Forget me Not
by Squeakyboots
Summary: Maka tries to commit suicide after being rejected by Soul, but when she loses her memory of him, will he realize what he lost? Every one of their lives twine together, connecting... What will happen to all of them when terrible secrets come to light?
1. Streetlamps

Summary-~-When Maka realizes that she loves Soul, she confesses to him, but he said he doesn't like her that way. But when Maka suddenly gets amnesia and can't remember Soul, will he finally realize what he's lost?

A/N—Well. This is my first ever fanfic. I hope it doesn't suck… And if it does, please tell me. There's only so much spell check can do.

Chapter one- Streetlamps

Maka was lying in her bed at about eleven at night. Even though she knew sleep was evading her for a reason, she still tried to block out the person who was clouding her mind.

Soul Eater Evans.

She shivered. His name could rock tremors through her body, though not in fear. Something foreign was creeping into Maka, and she couldn't decide if it was a good thing or a bad thing. She then thought of how love struck people thought, acted, and moved. Memories of clumsiness, blushing faces, and people cuddling flooded in.

No. It was a _bad _thing. Very, very bad. No one in their right mind should ever look like that intentionally.

She shook her head quickly, trying to physically shoo her thoughts away.

But his face kept coming back; his smiling one, his angry one, his 'cool' one….

Her mind's eye looked at those faces, settling on one feature at a time- his eyes, which pooled like blood, his hair, white as snow and gravity defying, his skin, slightly tanned and callused, and then to his lips.

She blushed madly as she fully took in his lips. Her head was not a good place to be at the current time. Her brain shorted out for a minute and her head spun, trying to make sense of what was happening to it. _I can't be the first person that this has happened to_, she thought, diving deeper into the covers of her bed.

Steam was practically coming out of her head with the way her face was flushing. It was as if she had a fever.

_Yeah, sure, a fever. Don't they have a specific name for this kind? Spring fever, maybe. With the way I'm blushing, it might as well be Scarlet fever, for God's sake._ _Get it together, Maka!_, she told herself fervently. She couldn't deal with this any longer. She forced herself out of her comfortable position, and with protest from the bed with a semi-loud creak, she got up and out of her room, searching aimlessly through the dark to find the bathroom. She flipped the light switch, causing her to squint at the brightness of the horrible lightbulb. She opened the cabinet next to the mirror which kept all the medicine and drugs of different kinds. She took out the Nyquil, guzzled about a third of the bottle, and set it back down. She needed to invest in some sleeping pills other than those books that sat on her massive bookshelf. Although not one of them ever acquired dust, she started to doubt if she really needed that many. She screwed the cap back on and gently put it back in its place next to all the other remedies. Its effects were already starting to hit her; either that, or her fatigue had caught up with her the minute she got up.

She shakily moved through the hallway back to her bedroom. This time, there were no thoughts about Soul. No idiotic revelations about just how much she liked him, or his face, or his _lips._ One embarrassing thought process was enough for Maka. Instead, did something much, much worse.

She dreamt of him.

_Maka was on a swing set, half-heartedly pushing her legs this way and that to try and get leverage, but her eyes stayed on the ground of the playground. She was too old for this, but she needed the comfort of a familiar sight to not just huddle up in a ball somewhere._

_Her mom had just died in a plane accident. And what was worse, her mother had been coming to see her. After the divorce, Maka's mom had moved away to Mexico- a foreign, exotic place where she could forget about Spirit and all the wrongdoings of her past husband. She had wanted a fresh start, so she had packed her bags, running off into the black abyss of the unknown and the thrill of adventure that family life had denied her. But Maka, her child, was left high and dry in the midst of Kami's departure. Kami felt bad and decided to visit her child after almost a decade of postcards and souvenirs. Kami's plane didn't have enough fuel for the way to Death City, and _bam,_ there went her mother. Maka was hit with the news almost a day after the plane crashed to the earth and took her mom away from her. She was told in class via a paper note saying that her mom was no longer amongst the living. Her eyes didn't look the same after the troubling note; they took on a glassy attribute that Soul noticed quickly. She didn't seem to hear the lesson in class- she didn't seem to be hearing at all- and she left the classroom slowly, trudging her feet as if they didn't want to comply with the neurons that were firing. Her whole face screamed "I'm not well. At all." Even the way she said "I'm fine" didn't even sound fine._

_She didn't go home after that, and Soul followed her in stealth in fear she might jump in front of a train or something. This was her mom they were talking about, the one Maka looked up to, the one that chased away the monsters at night, the one who Maka worshipped and the sole reason she hated her father. When Maka sat on the swings, looking like that, Soul couldn't help but come over to her._

"_You alright?"_

_Maka looked up to find Soul hovering over her with a concerned expression on his face. "….. Honestly? Hell no, Soul. Do I look _alright_ to you?" _

_He paused. "…. Honestly? Hell no."_

_She tried to smile-she was truly amused- but it came out as a grimace, as some smiles did. She frowned even more so when she realized that when she tried to smile it came out a scowl. She stared up at Soul, into his deep red eyes that seemed to say something more when no words were spoken._

_He unexpectedly gave her a small smile of his own. He looked as if he couldn't bear to see his this way, and for some reason, she was happy about that. Back then, she didn't know what this feeling was. She knew now._

"_C'mon, Maka. I want to cheer you up, but with you looking so glum, it's got me down too. What can I say to make you feel better?"_

_She was surprised at this. She thought that the most that she would get out of this was maybe "Maka! This so isn't cool. Let's go home." She should've known better. He was her partner, the other half of her soul, and the only one who knew her better than she probably knew the back of her hand._

_She thought of things that would cheer her up. A unicorn kicking her Papa over a bridge over a waterfall? Maybe in different circumstances, but not today. Kid with his toilet paper purposely not put in a triangle and his pictures half an inch tilted? Maybe, but not today. She finally thought of something._

"_Soul?"  
>"Yeah?"<em>

"_I want you to watch a reality T.V. show of your choice all the way through for an hour." She grinned wider than the Cheshire Cat._

_His eyes widened like he just saw a crime scene. By the look in his eyes, it must have been a bad one. Horrible. Blood splattered everywhere, heart cut out, eyes gouged out of their proper sockets. He then had another wave of it, like the crime scene just got worse- he was probably imagining Snookie in a bar or someone saying "OH NO HE'S MY MAN, BACK OFF, BITCHES!" _

"_Not just no, but HELL NO!"_

_She snickered to herself. She had just wanted to see Soul's terrified face._

"_You know, Soul, you're kinda cute. In a badass, 'I'm cool and I know it' death scythe of doom kinda way."_

"_I'm glad you added the death scythe of doom part, or I might have had to have your head examined."_

"_I know you would have."_

_Their playful banter continued all the way to her apartment. Soul took her to her door and with a goodbye and advise that jumping in front of trains can be harmful to your health, he left._

Maka woke to the sound of the most annoying alarm clock on the face of the earth. It was an alarm clock that beeped softly and slowly at first, and as more time passed, it got louder and the beeps picked up in tempo_. _It went kind of like "beep beep beep Beep Beep Beep BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP".

Needless to say, if it had a heartbeat, she would've smothered it a long time ago.

She could only vaguely remember her dream now that the alarm had pissed her off. It was enough to piss her off even more. She could remember that it was a good dream, just not what it was about. If the alarm clock wasn't so successful in getting her up every morning, she would've thrown it in the Pacific Ocean, attached a dumbbell to it, and watch the crappy piece of machinery _drown._

No, she wouldn't do that. It'd be a waste of a dumbbell. Maybe a rock.

Now that she was fully awake, she looked at her alarm clock just in case she slept through it the first time it ran through. (If you didn't turn it off on the first time it went off, it just played again in twenty more minutes, but how anyone can sleep through the first round, she was mystified.) It was seven o'clock sharp, giving her enough time to put on some flip flops and run through her apartment complex's roof. It was about to be light outside, and she always woke up nice and early to watch something happen that you could only see on the roof, high above all the houses in Death City, and she liked to imagine that when she was up here she was taller than life itself.

The air was a bit brisk this early in the morning. She shivered and cursed at herself to bring a jacket next time, like the time before this, and the time before that, and the time before that. She looked out over the entire city. Good. The street lights were still on.

Her nose was starting to run, and her ears were freezing even with her hair down. She had a feeling that if she looked in a mirror, her lips would be an unnatural purplish hue. The sun started to show its still snoring face. It wouldn't be long now.

As if to signal the lamps herself, Maka added in a small voice, "And five-and-six-and-seven-and-eight…"

Then, one by one, the streetlamps turned off in a chain reaction. One went off, then another, then another, and so on and so forth. Only when all the street lights were turned off that Maka smiled a tiny smile. She never had a day when she went up here and didn't smile after seeing that. Even on the worst of days, after her mother died, after she moved out of her father's house, after anything shitty happened, she could always count on the streetlamps to cheer her up as long as she was willing to be on the roof early. It seemed a fair enough trade.

Deciding that she wanted to keep all ten of her toes, she quickly went back inside to thaw out…

And ran straight into Soul.

Well, yeah, they lived in the same apartments, but why the hell was he up here? He didn't live on this floor. Heck, he didn't even live even close to the top of the building!

"Ow! Watch where you're going, Maka! You just about ran me over!" He clutched his side where Maka had apparently rammed into him. She was _almost_ sorry for him.

"Hey, watch where you're going while you're at it, too! Why are you in the roof access room anyway? You live on the second floor, for God's sake! I didn't think you had it in you to climb stairs", she snapped back at him. Maka really was surprised, though. She was still in her pajamas and her hair was down, and she thought that her face must've been red and raw from being out in the cold, along with her ever-attractive stuffy nose. She didn't think he _knew_ the time seven o'clock. He always looked so tired and fatigued; Maka thought that on a Saturday he would've slept in till noon.

"I'm pulling an all-nighter and wanted to watch the sun rise. A cool guy like me can't afford to sleep; I've gotta keep this is twenty-four seven!" He gestured to himself while beaming a toothy grin that just about stopped her heart. _Damn you, Soul Eater Evans, damn you_.

She rolled her eyes for effect, trying to show she was unaffected by his charm, when she was actually the one who was affected the most. Out of this whole world, only Maka was charmed like this by an arrogant moron who proclaimed himself as cool at any given time.

"Yeah, sure, Maka. You know you secretly want to be as cool as I am, somewhere deep, DEEP down."

"Oh, so cool guys watch the sun rise? Where was that in the handbook?"

"No, I'm going to be deep today and watch the sun rise. Gotta problem with that, Sergeant Maka?"

"It's General Maka to you, small fry. And the sun has already come up."

"What the? Are you telling me I climbed up all those flights of stairs for nothing?"

"No. Not nothing."

"Then what'd I get? Cause I am pretty sure I didn't get jack."

" You got a nice hit in the stomach to wake you up. Or I could lock you outside in temperatures that would freeze your ass off. Would that be better?"

"….. No, General Maka…" He looked at the ground.

"Good. Nice to know we understand each other." She patted him on the head; his hair went right back up to its usual gravity-defying ways. He narrowed his eyes at that but didn't protest. She smiled at him and started descending down the stairs.

"Hey, Maka?"

"What?"

"…. See you around."

She nodded at him. He then just stood there, still looking at Maka like a lost puppy without its owner. She sighed.

"Do you want to go out and grab some coffee? It's freezing and I think it would do you good to get caffeine in your system if you plan to keep staying up", she said to him. He looked at her with an expression she could quite place.

"Okay. But I'm pretty sure you would need to change first."

Maka had forgotten about that for a second and realized that she was still in her pajamas. Oh. Yeah, she needed to do something about that.

"Alright. I'm gonna go change. Wait for me downstairs, 'Kay?

"Fine with me. Just hurry up. It's not cool to keep people waiting."

She dashed down the stairs, quickly finding her room. She stripped out of her comfy pajamas and into a red turtleneck that clung to her skin, although she was lacking in the bust area. She made up for it in legs, as she tried to show with wearing such short shirts, and she chose some black skinny jeans to go with the shirt. Cold weather was approaching, and when it hit, it hit hard, so you had to be prepared with a giant closet. Maka chose a black jacket that hung loose but kept in warmth for outer wear, and some white gloves. Putting her hair up in her trademark pigtails, she noticed a red scarf draped over a chair next to her desk, and throwing the scarf on, she was looking pretty nice and still did it under five minutes. She grabbed her wallet and made a hasty retreat back to the entrance.

She found Soul with his eyes drooping dangerously on the nearby bench next to the revolving glass doors of the apartment complex. She tapped his forehead in exasperation when he didn't even notice her in front of him. He reluctantly opened his eyes for her.

"On second thought, napping on this bench is sounding better and better by the minute," he started to mumble. Maka dragged him to his feet wordlessly, knowing all too well what would happen when he got outside of the nice and warm apartments.

"GRAAAHHHH!" Soul moaned loudly. His face was hit by a blast of arctic air, instantly zapping him awake and leaving him jumping around as if he had put his hands in an electric socket. He blinked spastically and Maka couldn't help but giggle. She bet that napping on the bench didn't sound so good now. She took his hand, extremely aware of its warmth, and started tugging him along.

While Soul was busy shuddering, Maka was leading him along to a place called 'Uncle Bob's Rumba Coffee!' where Maka had a cappuccino once and just about died and went to heaven. This could get Soul up if the cold air hadn't already done the job.

It was a small place and only served its customers outside. To others, it looked shady and dull. To Maka, it was coffee paradise, even if you had to wait outside to get it. It just added to the high you got when you took a nice, warm sip of it. She could taste it now…

The shop had some chairs and tables outside, and Soul gladly plopped himself down on one, still trying to revive him fingers and urging them with hot breath to turn their rightful colors. Maka pushed a little green glowing button that said _press for assistance_! Written neatly above it. Maka greeted a tired looking woman who still wore a smile on her face, and Maka was happy to find that the lady had no trouble helping Maka find the cappuccino that she had ordered last time. She ordered a black coffee for Soul, sure that he didn't want some kind of girly drink for himself. He could sugar it if he wanted to, since all table came complete with creamers and marshmallows and sugars for their coffee. Taking the order, Maka threw down the handful of dollar bills it cost to buy, and taking her change, went over to Soul with his coffee in hand. He took the warm drink greedily from her hands.

She could see her breath coming out in puffs of smoke and for a brief second while Soul wasn't looking, she roared like a dragon and made smoke come out of her nose. She stifled her chuckles so he wouldn't be aware of what was going on.

She saw Soul's eyes widen when he drank the coffee, hesitant at first, but then sucked it down after he had decided it was indeed as good as she said it was. She grinned. He saw her smile, and smiled right back at her. This is what they did best, talked without actually talking. There didn't need to be words between them when they understood each other on a soul-deep level.

"Maka, you've been holding out on me. How did you manage to keep this place a secret?"

"Seeing as how it never came up in conversation and you don't wake up this early _ever, _you didn't make it easy for me."

"Excuses. I need answers, General."

"You just got answers, small fry."

"Now that you mention it, why do you call me small fry? If we were fish, you'd be a guppy and I'd be a Hammerhead. I am leagues taller than you, weird hobbit."

This led on a whole new wave of conversation, ending up with one saying words more powerful than the others, and ending up with them with an index finger's width between their faces. Maka was the first to realize their proximity and flushed crazily. She practically jumped back from him. Soul backed up and awkwardly cleared his throat. They walked back to their apartments in a drawn out silence.

_Damn you, Soul Eater Evans, damn you._

I'm about to die. It's one freaking twenty in the morning right now. It's not a good time to be day-tournal like myself, unable to stay up at night without the aid of five hour energy drinks. I'm making grammical errors like crazy and my only savior is spell check.

So…. Did you like it? I'm about to frikkin die, so please leave reviews. This is my first ever fanfic, so be kind to me! I don't know if I suck yet or am awesome! Was this chapter short? Long? I really have no idea since the only think keeping me up right now is the fact that I have to pee.

Review! Review! And review some more! Cuss all you want! Just…. Review… _'' If I don't get reviews I probably won't make another chapter. I never knew it took so much energy! And I am just kinda making this up as I go along. But there will be tons of fluff in the near future, I swear! *dies*

- Nicole, your loveable pillow pet


	2. Give me your helmet

Summary-~-When Maka realizes that she loves Soul, she confesses to him, but he said he doesn't like her that way. But when Maka suddenly gets amnesia and can't remember Soul, will he finally realize what he's lost?

A/N- *sniff sniff* I got… reviews! And I literally jumped for joy! All of you are so awesome for clicking on my story! Oh yeah, and they are still in high school, just in their senior year, so I guess they're around 18-19. I didn't have Maka and Soul in the same apartment because that would be too much of a hassle to write, and I don't really want to be like other people and give in to the temptation of "And then Soul walks into her room while she's undressing" or "He sees Maka sleeping on the couch and puts a blanket over her and secretly kisses her" or something like that. GAAH. Screw the author's note, on with the story!

Maka trudged up to her room, fighting the sighs that tried to come out. She gave in and let out a huff of air she hadn't realized she had been holding since the walk back to the apartments. She was a moron! He had probably seen her flush a deep red when she was up close to him like that. She hoped he had dismissed it as the cold, or even better, not noticed it at all. But that was a stretch. Even _Soul_ couldn't have been that oblivious. She leaned against her front door. Letting her head tip back so that her forehead could touch the cold wood, she tried to have the coolness of the door jolt her clouded mind to focus. She wanted to huddle up and watch something meaningless and mind-numbing television to temporarily erase the events of the morning. She turned on her T.V. and the station it was programmed on was playing some Saturday morning cartoons. She decided it couldn't hurt, slipped her shoes off, hung up her jacket, and curled up on her long beige couch and watched Tom and Jerry, Looney Tunes, Sonic the Hedgehog, and some other ones she watched dance across the screen for around three hours.

She was getting a bit hungry, so she got up from the couch to get herself a small snack. She stood up too quickly and saw pulsating pink and green stars flood her vision. Once she was done stumbling and got her eyesight back, she went up and made herself some Froot Loops. Mid- spoonful, she got a call from one of her friends from school, Tsubaki. Tsubaki's familiar ringtone filled the room for a brief moment and Maka quickly got up to answer it.

"Hello?" Maka still had the courtesy to say the simple phrase even when she knew who it was.

"Hi Maka! It's Tsubaki. How are you?" Her friend's gentle voice carried back to Maka over the phone, and even if she didn't have the ringtone tip her off or have Tsubaki present herself, she still would've known that timid voice anywhere.

"I'm doing fine. And you?"

"I'm fine too. Are you doing anything today, by chance? I wanted to get out of the house today. I know you have work on Saturdays, but can you squeeze this in? I could ask Liz and Patty to come with us. I know that it's cold, and that many people get lazy in winter, but I haven't been out in a long time, and you know, you're my friend, and I really wanted to see you out of school, 'cause we don't really ever see each other out of school now… Oh god. Am I rambling again?"

"Yeah. It's cute, though. And it really depends what time we're going. I'm fine with going as long as it's soon. It's around noon and my shift starts at five o'clock. Have you checked for times?"

"Uh huh! I found this adorable little movie that we could see at two fifteen! I made sure to get the later showing two hours from now so that Liz wouldn't complain about not having enough time to do her make-up. It'd give everyone ample time to do what they needed. Do you want to call Liz and Patty for me? My phone doesn't have many more minutes and I don't get paid until the end of this month…"

"Sure! It's fine. I'll call you back after I'm done talking to them, alright?"

"Okay! Thanks, Maka!"

They exchanged goodbyes and hung up.

Maka was smiling widely. She was going to the movies instead of moping around the house! She never would've called anybody like Tsubaki had. No lazy day for her! She could almost taste the buttery popcorn and her all time favorite candy, Junior Mints, on her tongue. She went to her phone's contact list and pressed the talk button after settling on the sister's numbers. It rang three times until a sleepy Liz picked up the phone.

"H-Hello?" Liz asked groggily. Her voice was soft and it had the tone that she had just woken up.

"Hey, it's Maka. Tsubaki wanted to know if you and Patty wanted to come to the movies with us. The show starts at two fifteen so you'll have plenty of time to get ready." Maka resisted the urge to say "so you'll have plenty of time to put your face on", but she didn't want to anger a sleepy Liz.

"What are we gonna go watch?" Liz asked, her voice getting clearer.

"Tsubaki didn't specify, she just said 'a cute little movie.' But we could always sneak in to another theater and watch the new Paranormal Activity. I know just how much you _love_ ghosts," Maka jeered.

"Sometimes I wonder why in the hell I am friends with a psycho like you. Yeah, we'll be there. What theater?"

"The one next to Oakley Street, next to the Zoo? We pass by it a lot."

"Oh yeah! I know what you're talking about. We'll be up there at two to get in line for tickets, alright?"

"Sure. Meet you there."

They said 'See Ya' at the exact same time and Maka hit the **end **button on the compact phone She called Tsubaki to give her the thumbs up.

Huh. She was gonna have to get ready.

She put her bowl of cereal away, already devoured, and pretty much ran to her room. She decided to go all-out with her clothes today. She _was_ going to be seen Tsubaki, who was tall, pale, with sleek black hair and eyes that were a beautiful indigo color that sparkled in the light. (And, unlike Maka, had more than enough to spare in the chest area.) Liz was known for looking _damn fine_, as she liked to proclaim herself, and was tall, tan, with long light brown hair, armed with eyes like sapphires and curves that she flaunted at any given time. Patty, her sister, was a different matter; she was shorter than even Maka, had blonde hair, and had lighter eyes than her sister and was, um, _very _well endowed. She could have been a model if she took care of herself like Liz, but Patty had a childish attitude and took nothing seriously. It was as if she matured mentally until the age of four and put it on halt. Her thought processes were short and she couldn't keep her attention on any one thing. She made up for it in being loveable to everyone even though her hoodlum ways came out sometimes.

So, with that being said, Maka was going to be outshined by these beauty queens if she went out with them in normal attire, and Maka did _not_ want to look like a piece of coal next to all those jewels. She fished out some faded gray leggings that went to her mid-calf with lace at the ends. She dug a little deeper through her drawers, found a denim mini skirt that was frayed at the edges, and picked out a blue-gray one-shoulder top that hung loosely at the shoulders but clutched at the waist. She tried the outfit on, and to her immense pleasure, the combo of long sleeves and miniskirts looked good together. She put on some white fleece gloves, her signature boots, a crystal rose choker and with a tiny twirl on her part, her self confidence boosted significantly.

She looked at the time. It was only twelve-forty seven, so to kill time, she took a shower. She stripped and allowed herself to relax in the steamy air surrounding her. When she was in the shower, a thought occurred to her.

She was going to have wet hair in freezing temperatures? Damn. She didn't even own a blow-dryer. She was going to be a human Popsicle the moment she stepped foot outside. She went into a brief depression. Well.

Once she as out of the shower, she sneaked a quick glance at her much-hated clock. She still had some time left to make sure she was at absolute 100%. She towel-dried her hair so it was only semi-damp and slipped on her outfit. By now, it was one-thirty six. Maka grabbed her jacket off of the coat rack and patted herself down to make sure she had her wallet. She didn't want her friends to have to buy her ticket for her, and knowing Liz and Patty, they were probably hoping Maka and Tsubaki would pay for them. She did a quick mirror check, bolted her doors, and was out of her apartment feeling great.

She hoped not to run into Soul on her way down. She prayed to anyone up there, God, Buddha, Gandhi, whatever- she just _really didn't want to run into Soul_.

And for once, her prayers were answered. She scaled the stairs, only finding lone busybodies and mailmen. He must've gone back to sleep. She let out a sigh of relief and kept running down the stairs, descending floor by floor. She needed a workout anyway.

As soon as she went out of the entrance's revolving doors, though, God seemed to have had second thoughts and decided he wanted to get a good laugh out of this.

She saw Soul parking right outside the front entrance. She looked up to the heavens and scowled.

She walked at her own pace, determined not to flush or fidget in his presence. He unhooked his helmet and slid it off his head. She was, sadly, in his direct line of vision at the time. He noticed her and she noticed him. Their eyes locked, and she was proud to say that she didn't run away or blush. To her knowledge, anyway.

"Eh, Maka! What's got you out? I thought you'd be napping or something," He said with a slight smile on his face.

_I could say the same about you. I was _not_ supposed to see you._

"I'm going to the movies with friends. You know what those are, Soul? They're people who are _friendly _and have _conversations_ with you. Do you have any? Oh yeah! You don't."

"Some kinda _friends_ you're seeing. Could you get that skirt any shorter? Oh yeah! You can't. Any shorter and you'd get a ticket for public indecency."

"Wow, Soul, I guess I thought wrong."

"About what?"

"The fact that you wanted to _live_."

"I'll ignore that. Do you want a ride?"

She blinked. Did he say what she just thought he said?

"Yes, idiot, I just said if you wanted a ride. Stop staring like a deer in headlights and get on the back," he said, like he could read her mind.

"…. Why are you giving me a ride?" She asked timidly. Did he want a favor?

"Because I've already done all the stuff I need to but I don't wanna go back inside the apartment. I might as well give you a ride there. It'd save you gas. Just get on."

Maka thought about it. A chance to attach herself to his warm back, clinging to him, riding on a motorcycle, adrenaline pumping…. She couldn't pass it up. She'd never been on a motorcycle, and now seemed like a good enough time as any to start.

"Give me your helmet."

Soul grinned.

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The wind whipped at Maka's face as they weaved through the traffic. He knew the way, and they were going so many miles above the speed limit they should've been arrested ages ago. He didn't have any problem seeing the road even when freezing air attacked his eyes. She didn't quite understand it herself.

She hugged him from the back with a death grip. The motorcycle was going this way and that and tilting at angles it was_ never_ supposed to be tilted, but Soul didn't even flinch. Her heartbeat was going faster than a terrified jackrabbit's, and only part of it was because they were going fast. The other part was… well, she was holding on to _Soul Evans_ for dear life. She was glad that he was unable to see her because she was blushing furiously and smiling like a madman. It just felt _so good_ to hold him. She was almost disappointed that they were going so fast. Less time getting there= Less time holding Soul. She was sure she would relive this ride later no matter how hard she tried.

She saw the movie theater come up in her sight, and Soul started slowing down to drop her off at the front. She got up from the motorcycle hesitantly, not really wanting to leave. She slid the helmet off of her head and gave it back to Soul. She allowed a small smile to escape her lips.

"Thanks for the ride, Soul."

"Have a good time."

She waved to him when he left and kept waving even after he left. She allowed herself to blush, just a little.

When she turned around, she met the hounds of hell staring at her in the face, smirking widely.

"Oh, Maka? Was that _Soul_ who just gave you a ride? And did you _blush_? I can see it. I can see it! Look, Patty, Maka likes Soul!" Liz squealed. Maka shook her head so hard she was starting to get dizzy, but the blush was unmistakable. _Damn it._

Patty hopped over to where Maka was. "Oh, was that Soul? He gave you a ride, Maka-chu?" Maka stopped her relentless denial and nodded to Patty's question.

"And do you like him?" She asked, being blunt as a child would have. To the point. No room to wiggle out or change the topic.

Maka looked down at the ground and her face turned a deeper crimson color. She nodded again.

"Good girl, Maka! Now we can find out what to do about this!" Patty started to pat Maka on the head. Liz was just staring in amazement.

"OHMYGOD! DO YOU KNOW HOW _LONG_ I WAITED FOR THIS? OUR BEAUTIFUL LITTLE MAKA LIKE SOUL EATER EVANS!"She screamed.

"Maka…. CHOP!" Maka hit Liz in the head with her hand, applying a little too much force.

"Will you stop announcing it to the world? What if somebody we knew was here! I'll kill you if anyone else finds out!" Maka lectured Liz, while thee receiver of her anger still lay on the floor, clutching her skull. Liz mumbled out words of agreement in hope that Maka wouldn't render her unconscious with another deadly Maka chop.

"Um… Maka?" A small voice said behind the threesome.

Maka whipped around to see Tsubaki with her eyes wide and her hands clasped together in excitement. Her eyes shone.

"You like… Soul?"

Maka sighed.

"Yeah."

Liz squealed again, but when Maka held up a hand in warning, Liz shut up and decided not to push it.

Maka looked around at her best friends.

"It's going to be a long movie, isn't it?"

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A/N: It's so hot over here! We've had twenty consecutive days that it's been over one hundred degrees! That's why, if anyone was wondering, why it's winter in my story. I miss the cold… when it's cold, you can put on as many clothes as you need to, but when it's summer, there's only so many you can take off without being arrested. Thank all of you for reviewing! I'm sorry if it's slow, but I'm building up to it. I want it to be like it was actually happening, and these things don't just go "I like you. You don't like me? Well BAM, asshole, I'll get amnesia" In one day. I'm going to try and update every day for all of you! And thank you to the shades of green for putting my story on your list of favorites! And Gunpowder cookies, your comment made my day! Ima do my best for all of you!

-Nicole, The missing Crayola crayon


	3. Apple cinnamon

A/N— Aaah. I feel… so tired… Oh, and I decided to just put on the summary why she gets amnesia. So, apparently, Maka isn't as strong as she tries to be. I think even Maka could be driven to that point… And I already have it all planned out in my twisted little head. My best friend is on vacation in Tennessee and I have not gone anywhere but the mall (forced by older sister). No gas stations, no supermarkets, no library, just the kitchen table. I feel like a sloth. And it feels good.

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_Ah…. I did it! I said it out loud! Wait… why can I feel their breath? Ah, dammit! They're squishing me!_

Maka Albarn realized she was in a corner surrounded by her three interrogators. With the element of surprise, she broke out of the corner in a dead sprint to the far end of the entrance platform. Maka glared at her friends with a look that spoke for itself. She bumped up against something and looked behind her, realizing it was one of those digital ticket things that you put your credit card into.

"Tsubaki… Come over here and order our tickets, please…" She yelled hesitantly. She saw Tsubaki move towards the ticket booth as slowly as she would as if she were approaching a rabid grizzly bear. Liz and Patty stayed where they were, staring at Maka so intensely she felt that they were burning holes where their gazes fell. Maka could feel sweat bead on her forehead.

Tsubaki eventually reached the ticket machines, safely keeping an arm's length distance from the grizzly at all times. She slid her credit card through the slot and the mechanism spit out four tickets in a messy fashion. Maka went over to Tsubaki and looked over her friend's shoulder.

"We're…going to see…." She muttered incoherently.

"Yup! I thought you'd like this movie, Maka!" Tsubaki said with a gleeful look on her face. The grizzly had been tamed, judging from the sparkly look in Maka's eyes.

"Yes yes yes I would like to see this movie! I haven't seen it since I was a little kid!" Maka squealed like a fangirl seeing their idol in the flesh. Liz looked at Maka curiously and started slithering forward, slow as a turtle. Another Maka chop and she could be in a brain-dead coma. Luckily for her, Maka was too busy rejoicing to notice a reluctant Liz and Patty move in next to her.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go get some popcorn and candy. I want to get to the theater on time!" Maka started skipping towards the entrance at breakneck speed. What the hell was up with that girl and going as fast as humanly possible?

"W-wait up, Maka!" Tsubaki stuttered, running after her friend with Liz and Patty in tow.

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"Ah! That was such a cute little movie!" Maka sighed and stretched her arms after watching the film. She was still smiling in remembrance and the nostalgia of the whole thing. Tsubaki was smiling kindly and Liz looked indifferent. Patty just kept laughing.

Liz _really_ wanted to ask Maka the questions that everyone was thinking. She pondered the pros and cons.

_Pro: We might get to know how to get those two idiots together._

_Con: Do I really want to die an early death? We all know what curiosity did to the cat…_

Liz decided curiosity was worth more than her life. She grabbed her sister by the shoulders and looked at her very seriously.

"Patty, you've been a wonderful sister to me. I want you to know that I love you more than anything else. Make sure I'm wearing my favorite blue dress in the casket, and I want to be holding carnations. Make sure that a soft song is playing faintly, and I want _Elizabeth Thompson- a loving sister and_ _a great_ _friend to the end_ on my grave. You can have all my things, but bury me with the snow globe we got from our vacation to the Bahamas. I'll always love you, Patty." Liz said, tears in her eyes.

Patty, realizing what her sister was going to do, gave a small nod. "I'll… I'll never forget you, big sis!"

Liz approached Maka.

"So, Maka… When were you planning to tell us you liked Soul?" She flinched before Maka even turned around.

"I don't just like him. I love him. And until something like this happened, I would probably have _never_ told any of you unless provoked." Maka said flatly.

"Oh… So when are you going to tell him that 'cha love him?" Liz prodded. The gods must have been smiling on her, or she needed to live on to do some wonderful deed, since she was still alive after the first question.

Maka blushed fiercely and her face contorted into something that the gang had never seen on the girl's face before. Was it… embarrassment? It…. It was! Liz's jaw dropped to the ground at the pure miracle before her. The normally stoic bookworm was _blushing_ and looking _embarrassed_? It was too good to be true.

"I…. I don't know. I really don't."

Liz's eyes lit up. She had a thousand scenarios in her head playing out; every scene was somewhat gushy and with a sparkly tint to it, like an anime scene. Maka couldn't see Liz's face while looking at the ground, thankfully, or Tsubaki would've had to restrain Maka from beating the thoughts out of Liz's head.

"You've gotta tell him, Maka-Chan! Or I'll lock you both up in a dark room for the whole night, and that's a promise!" Patty said, using logic that only children had.

Tsubaki sighed as she saw the eldest sister's eyes gleam again, thinking of what would happen if they _were_ locked up in a room for the whole night. Even Liz blushed at the direction her thoughts were taking.

"No, Patty… that would be too…. rated R for Maka. What she needs is a warm, sweet confession in a romantic place of choice. Yes… and then Soul will blush a small guy-blush and hesitantly say he loves her too, and then the first arc will end, and then we'll have to make another arc about their relationship struggles as a couple along with the first kiss- at a fireworks festival preferably- and then the manga will end with a sweet note to it, spanning thirteen volumes!" Liz said, gradually getting taller and taller until she was fist pumping to the end in her mind.

Everyone just kind of looked at her and shrugged it off. Liz had probably been reading too many shojo mangas again.

"Um… Liz, I don't really think it will turn out like that…" Tsubaki said to Liz, who was still in her stance of 'THIS WILL TURN OUT LIKE A SHOJO! I KNOW IT!'

Maka glowered at Liz and she instantly snapped out of it. She took a couple steps away from Maka for good measure. Once Maka saw fear back in the eldest Thompson's eyes, she nodded to herself and kept walking to the entrance of the giant theater. She kept popping Mini- Sweetarts into her mouth like pills, taking in the sweetness that overtook her taste buds with each little candy. She beamed with the joy that overtook her with just a simple treat. She needed to indulge herself more often.

They reached the wintry air of the outside world and it hit them all like a slap in the face. The group winced in unison, their breath now making small wisps of white, transparent small clouds.

"I don't care about the rest of you, but I'm going to talk to Maka, and that's that!" Patty suddenly bursted out. Patty then proceeded to drag Maka into a small candle shop, Maka going along simply because defying Patty would make her feel like a parent who had denied their child a toy.

"Oh! It smells _so good_ in here… Wait, that's not the point, Maka! We need you to tell Soul you like him or love him or whatever so that you can have the happily ever after you deserve. We love you, and you need to do this for yourself just as much as we need you to. This is going to come out one way or another, and it's up to you whether you do it or _we_ do it. Soul seems to be a complete and utter _dipshit_, and he's not gonna know unless you say it as bluntly as possibly. Go for it, honey, and we'll be cheering for you!" Patty said in a rush.

The only thing Maka could register was that when Patty said honey, she really said 'ha-ni'. Other than that, she was completely dumbfounded by the fact that _Patty_ had said all that in her tiny soprano voice. Her mind focused someplace elsewhere, hopping from _Soul_ to _apple cinnamon candles_. It seemed a safer choice, one without risk, so she walked over to the candles without uttering a syllable in response.

Patty followed her and just started picking up candles and sniffing, not so much as glancing towards the labels. Maka looked at each and every label there was_. Pumpkin seed. White linen. Honey lilac. Moonlit_ _pathway. Apple blossom. Sensual. Sex on the beach. Bliss. Cucumber melon. Sweet pea. Currant and jasmine_. There was nothing left undetected by her eagle eyes.

They were being watched intently by a storekeeper. The small, middle-aged woman probably hadn't had much business when the wintry weather hit town, and she had undoubtedly heard their conversation. _Oh, come on!_ Maka thought, sighing inwardly. She never did like it when people overheard things they weren't supposed to hear. She picked out her three favorite candles –_sweet pea, cucumber melon_, and _currant and jasmine_- and shuffled towards the checkout desk, the lady watching her like a hawk eyeing its prey. Maka would've felt guilty if she had left the store without buying anything. The store clerk scanned her items, all the while trying to make eye contact unsuccessfully. When Maka didn't look up, the clerk started talking anyway.

"You know, you should follow your friend's advice. If he is completely dense, there's no other way that to tell it to him straight out. She," the woman nodded at Patty, "seems to really care for you."

Maka looked up from the wood tile and into the deep, concerned eyes of the woman. Maka stared at her for as long as she allowed herself and cleared her throat to say something to the kind woman.

"Thanks…" She mumbled. It wasn't a motivational speech of any kind, but it was a start, and seemed to be all that the clerk needed.

"Here you go, sweetie. Think about your friend's words. She's a lot wiser than you think." They both looked back at Patty, who was currently twirling and singing something they couldn't make out. Maka shot a disbelieving look towards the clerk, who in turn laughed a rich laugh that was just nice to the ears. She could've been a singer.

"Thank you."

"Come back soon, sweetie." She waved in a gentle way towards the eighteen year old.

"If I can."

Maka grabbed Patty with the hand that wasn't clutching her bag and kicked the door softly open, causing the door to emit a small bell sound to signal someone was leaving. She left without another glance towards the small candle store, not because she didn't want to see it, but because she was resolved. For the moment, anyway.

As soon as they left the store, Maka realized that Liz and Tsubaki weren't where they left them. With a little searching on their part, the twosome found them cuddled on a bench, clutching steaming drinks.

"We wondered when you were getting back. What took you so long?" Liz asked, taking a sip of what Maka suspected was tea. Maka looked down at the steamy drink, realizing just how _cold_ it was outside. No wonder it was a ghost town. It was usually packed with energetic souls.

"Patty and I had a nice little chat. Didn't we, Patty?" Patty just nodded in response.

Liz, on the other hand, started to look alarmed.

"Oh no, Maka, you can kill me but not my sister! You didn't do anything to her, did you?" Liz started prodding around on Patty, feeling her head for a bump, looking for bruises.

"Shut _up_, sis! Me and Maka just had a nice conversation!" Patty squirmed out of Liz's hold and looked irritated. She started smoothing out her tousled hair hastily.

Maka giggled and absently looked at her watch. Oh, _shit._

"Guys! It's four fifty! Don't you know I have work? I'm going to have to run _fast_!" Maka was already starting to regain herself and poised to sprint.

"Well… happy running…" Tsubaki said as Maka already was dashing around the corner. Gosh, that girl…

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Maka clocked in _on the freaking dot_. She was never, _ever _going to forget about the time around those morons again. She calmed her erratic breathing and put on a fake smile to serve the customers. At least it was just a three hour shift, since it was Saturday. She could still tell it was going to be a long work day. All three hours of it. She walked out of the kitchen doors, ready to tackle another work day.

*Three hours later…*

"I miss summer…" Maka sighed, reminiscing in memories of swimsuits and snow cones, lazy days and golden sand. It was much better than the frozen wasteland this place became when it got frosty. Everyone seemed to go into hibernation during the icy season.

She was strolling along the streets at eight o' clock. The sun had long since set, proving that even the sun couldn't stand this weather it was being dealt.

She sat on a bench under a streetlamp, holding a cup of hot chamomile tea that one of the cooks that she was friends with, Kim, had given her. She plopped down onto the frigid surface and leaned back so that her gaze as set upon the light that the streetlamp had embedded inside it. Her eyes set on the lightbulb, and with every passing second, foreign colors circled and enveloped the light source. She looked down at her shoes instead, hoping she wouldn't burn out her cornea with that small incident. It was silly; didn't that take a long time to happen?

She discarded every thought from her head in an effort to feel peace. She looked at her breath instead, focusing on it deeply. She took a small sip of her tea, warming her insides for a moment, jolting her and making sure she didn't accidentally sleep out here.

It was going to be a long walk home.

She realized that she _really_ wanted Soul right now. His motorcycle would've been convenient right around this time. Not really just his motorcycle though; It was just his… _Soul-ness_ that she was wanting right now. Craving. It was as if he was some vital organ she never realized she had; unbeknownst to her at the time, but fatal if taken away. He was worth just as much to her as any lung or kidney was, if not more. She just wished he was here. She wanted it so badly it hurt.

And there he was.

"Are you going to sit there and freeze over or are you gonna get on the back and ride?" He said to her. She looked up and saw Soul hovering over her, leaning over the bench she was sitting on. She sucked in a breath of surprise, grinned, and took his helmet out from under his arm and put it under hers.

"You keep showing up."

"I could say the same about you."

The emptiness she felt inside just a moment ago left as sudden as it had come.

She put the helmet on, still smiling.

"Just shut up and drive."

A/N:

*dies*

That's how I feel right now. It's three in the morning…

If anyone of you guys needs some soft music to calm down to, listen to Soul Meets Body by Death Cab for Cutie. It's really nice and I love their voice.

I find it very funny that spell-check decided that Sweetarts isn't a word and dipshit is. Wow. Really, spell-check? I had to put Sweetarts in the dictionary just so it wouldn't have that ever-annoying red squiggly line under it.

Thank all of you for the reviews; I read every one of them! Keep reviewing to make me a happy person and to get earlier updates ~

Nicole, R.I.P *dies*


	4. What would be so bad about kissing me?

_Summary: Lelouch is an ordinary teenager until he finds a girl in a capsule with green hair with a mysterious marking on her forehead. He then gets a mysterious power called geass…. Oh wait, wrong story. It's… Soul Eater, right? …Well, damn. XD Read the description if you don't know by chapter four._ (O.o ) Sorry, I couldn't resist the temptation of adding that little Code Geass tidbit. It's just about the best anime I've ever seen, rivaling even Soul Eater. It has more plot twists than a Mexican churro!

I have been revived and recently got out of the ICU of Fanfiction, thanks to some kind reviews by you guys, and I am ready to post another chapter of FMN! Here goes nothing….

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She soon sat back on her couch, dazed and confused about the previous thing that had happened outside of her apartment. It was playing over and over in her head, her eyes staring at the stark white walls without actually _looking_ at them. She was replaying the scene again and again in her head like a broken record.

_She walked up to her door, Soul following her there. She stopped in front of her door and looked at him. He looked back at her with his half-lidded stare._

"_Thanks for tonight, Soul. You're always around when I need you, huh?" Her tone was aiming to be light and teasing, but she caught the note of true appreciation in her voice as she said it. Damn it, she hoped he was too dumb to realize she meant something more behind her words._

"… _Huh. I guess I am, aren't I?" He thought that over for a second and then looked back at her."Well, let's hope I don't crash my bike, or you'd be out of luck. Goodnight, Maka."He said, turning his back to her. No! She didn't want him to go… just one more glance…_

"_Hey, Soul?" Damn it, damn it, damn it! That wasn't good! She didn't mean to do it- it just came out before she could logically think it over…_

"_What is it?" He looked back at her, his eyebrows the only indication that he was remotely curious, slightly tilted up towards his hairline. If she hadn't been studying him so diligently, she probably wouldn't have noticed. Hell, nobody would have noticed except for her… she had studied that face and knew almost every expression it could possibly contort itself into. But still… seeing his face for that brief second satiated her newfound thirst for him._

"…_Don't keep pulling all-nighters like this! You're gonna get more bags under your eyes than you already have now! I want to keep you healthy, Soul, and you're not exactly making it easy for me." She rushed out, dredging up an answer almost as naturally as it had been her original plan to say it. She mentally patted herself on the back to think of an answer that sounded so _Maka_._

"_What are you, my mother? I said goodnight, and little girls like you need their sleep to grow. Oh, wait, it doesn't look like you're growing in some _certain areas_ anytime soon." He smirked and chuckled to himself, completely unaware of the growing anger in Maka's direction._

_He was unconscious on the floor two and a half seconds later, and would most definitely wake up with a pounding headache when he came to._

_She loomed over his living dead figure, gazing at his expression. It was completely defenseless, no guards up, and he looked not in the slightest bit uncomfortable. It looked like he went to sleep in the middle of the blue carpeted hallway._

_She stood there for about five minutes, realizing that maybe he _had_ gone to sleep after being rendered unconscious. He'd been pulling an all-nighter before this, and his tired body had finally caught up with him. It had received a gauntlet to sleep and gladly took it._

Oh, no… what do I do now? It's ten o'clock at night and his apartment is six floors down! Why isn't there an elevator in this forsaken building_? She cursed the complex for being so old and not having elevators by now._

_But… her apartment was only a couple meters away._

_Was she really going to do this? It was tempting. Very much so._

_She did it before she could think about it all the way through._

_And now she had the boy she loved on her couch._

She had Soul on the main sofa while Maka was bunched up on her recliner. She kept sneaking glances at him, even though she knew nobody was going to catch her doing so. She had put a pillow under his head and a small fleece blanket over him, hoping he wouldn't be uncomfortable when he woke up. He looked like a little kid who had stayed up too long after his bedtime.

She was blushing so hard she could've boiled water on her cheeks.

Maka crawled out of her comfy seat and sat right up next to Soul's face. She was so close to him that she could feel his warm breath against her face. He was just _so close_.

He was so beautiful it should be criminal.

Something foreign shot through her, and she felt herself leaning in closer… and closer…

She kissed him.

There was an explosive rush that broke through her body, like she had just torn down a dam inside of her that let out every good emotion she could conjure up.

The fact registered in her brain, but she kept her lips on his for a moment longer. She pulled back reluctantly and peeked out of her closed eyelids.

He was still as asleep as he had been before. If she thought she was blushing before, then she was dead wrong. Compared to the tiny flush she had before, this was a raging wildfire beneath her skin, and there weren't enough firemen in the world to tame it.

She scrambled back, still looking at his face for the slightest change in expression. She saw none. His face was still peaceful, as if nothing had happened.

_And,_ she decided, _it _will _be as if nothing happened_. _He will never know what had conspired here, in this_ _room, on this day._

She left to her room before she could do anything like _that_ again. Once she was inside the walls of her room, she gave up trying to do something as hard as standing. Her legs gave out from under her and she collapsed against her bed. She struggled to get onto her bed all the way, huddling under the soft down covers.

She couldn't sleep if you paid her to do so.

Maka groaned, knowing where this would go, and rolled over to the side of her bed. She stood shakily and felt naked without her covers. She looked at her small clock and saw that it was already tomorrow.

She turned her bedroom light on, squinting at the light, and let the glow leak out of her room, allowing enough brightness to allow her to make out where the bathroom was. She hobbled over to her restroom and flipped the switch.

She proceeded to do what she did the night before, and stifled a small gag from the taste of the god-awful cough syrup. She would really have to get some sleeping pills. She'd have to write it down somewhere… sometime…

The effects of the syrup hit her much more quickly than possible. What had she said about Soul's state earlier? That the body had gotten a gauntlet for sleep and took it gladly. Well, hers wasn't just taking. It was stealing, pushing and shoving her into the recesses of her mind.

She hazily tried to get to her room, but only managed to get halfway through the hallway without passing out.

_No… Don't wanna… I just… want to… go to sleep… not like… this… Lemme… get up…._

…..

"…ey. Hey… Maka… are you okay? Maka?"

She opened her eyes to a sight that she did not expect.

Soul was kneeled next to her, holding her shoulders and occasionally shaking them. His eyes were frantic, but his voice did not indicate his panic whatsoever. It was a neat talent, really.

"Soul? What are you doing here? Oh no… did I do something I might regret later?" She asked, not fully awake yet. All she could remember was a pressing weight on her eyelids, and her legs surrendering to the pressure it had taken on. The wood tile had felt so nice against her burning face…

"I wanted to ask you the same question. What the hell am I doing here? I remember you scrabbling my brains last night and everything goes dark," Soul complained. The crazed look in his eyes had left.

"Why do you look so frightened? I only passed out," Maka mumbled. She was a morning person, but the Nyquil was urging her to sleep even after she was awake.

"Only? You don't take yourself seriously, Maka. But seriously, why did I wake up on your couch this morning? I thought I was kidnapped until I saw your book bag on the table."

"Oh… you passed out and didn't wake up, so I dragged you to my apartment instead of yours 'cause mine was closer. I didn't think you'd mind, since you were half dead."

"I don't want to be on your sofa next time. I think it's cursed."

"How so?"

"I had a horrible nightmare."

"What was it about? I didn't see you squirming or moaning so I didn't think you was having a bad dream." It was true. He didn't even change his expressions when she kissed him.

"There was this really hot girl next to me, and when she leaned in to kiss me, she turned into you, Maka. It was super freaky."

Maka froze. So he had felt it! And he even knew it was her! But that wasn't the phrase she was thinking of. It was another one…

_It was a horrible nightmare._

It hit her hard, and he noticed when her eyes dimmed and lowered to the floor. A horrible nightmare, huh?

The world around her turned a shade darker.

"Hey, Soul?"

"Yeah?" He said wearily; he knew that look well and he didn't want to make her even more depressed, even though he wasn't sure what had made her fall into that state anyway.

"Why was it so bad kissing me?"

A heavy silence hung between them as the pieces finally fit together for Soul.

_Does she… like me? No way… Shit…and I said that…_

"Soul? You get it now, right?"

He nodded stiffly.

"Then you can get out."

He still stood there, not knowing what to do. He couldn't see her face, but her voice was cracking like a dropped porcelain plate. He kept his feet planted there until she looked up to meet his eyes. He took a sharp intake of breath, turned around, and didn't take the chance of looking back at her. His heart would break if he saw that look again.

She wore the same expression she had when she had found out her mother had died.

He had no kind, reassuring words for her. He couldn't hug her back and say that he liked her too, he couldn't tell her that everything was going to be okay.

He wouldn't lie to her.

She heard the door shut softly and didn't bother keeping in her tears. She wept onto the ground, bawling like a beaten child.

Nothing was fair. Nothing was right. I can't deal with this. It's so dark… I can't take this anymore…

And for the second time today, she passed out, not even trying to fight the sweet black waters that pulled her under.

Soul could hear her cries loud and clear, outside her door, past three other doors. He kept going down, the cries getting muffled and then stopping altogether.

A/N: The ball… is… rolling!

I am so angry right now. You want to know why? Because a lot of people have put my story on their favorites lists and put it on alert.

But they didn't. Fucking. Review.

Yeah, you! You in the back! I'm talking about you, EbonyOwl, fower43, JkJk2395, souleaterd, xXHikariRenXx, , butt3rflytears,mjlover0021, Techno Skittles, and TheElementalPerson! Leave a stupid review before you put me on your favorites list, why don't 'cha? Just a small one will do! *cries* What the hell? Just a teensy one…

Yay… tragedy is coming soon! I was actually smiling when I wrote this. I can't wait to show you guys what happens next! :3 Expect another chappie in a day or two~

Nicole, the newfound murderer (goes after said people with an axe)


	5. Things that are bad for your health

A/N: Yo! I have noticed that ever since I put up the small fact that I would kill you all up on the table, you seem to be reviewing more! Although I wish I didn't have to resort to death threats. *slowly pulls out gun * you're still out there….gather torches and pitchforks, people.

Okay, I do admit, Soul is a complete and total ass. But I have to make him an ass. How else am I going to make you guys appreciate fluff? By the time this… arc (?)…. Is over, you'll practically be begging for it. I got a ton of 'Poor Maka!'s. Haha! You think this is bad? I'm going to put them through the ringer. I have this all planned out… :D With the way my thoughts are running, maybe I should make this a tragedy. Very sad, very sweet. Ah… but my tragedy thoughts could just be an alternate ending. Graaah! I don't know! What do you guys think?

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He couldn't tell what he was feeling.

That was what it really boiled down to.

If the whole world was in peril and all they needed was a yes or no answer, the human race would be wiped out. Because he just didn't know. Everything got muffled.

Did he like Maka that way?

He thought of kissing her. The thought wasn't revolting, it wasn't sickening.

It just lacked attraction.

He didn't feel attracted to her in the slightest. He felt somewhat down, realizing this. He would have to stomp on Maka's feelings. He didn't like doing that, though. He felt depressed, thinking of her gut-wrenchingly anguished face when he left. He didn't want her to feel sad.

Hmm. He didn't feel bad for any other girls that he had rejected; he just said if swiftly and efficiently to ensure that they didn't get the wrong idea. He brushed it off. It was probably because she was one of his closest friends. Yeah, that was probably it.

And he had just ripped her heart out.

He stifled a yawn, leaning like a cat against his kitchen counter. He looked at the time. Seven O'clock. Way too early to be awake… He kicked off his shoes, threw his jacket haphazardly onto the floor, and decided that more sleep wasn't exactly a bad idea. A way to forget everything for a couple more hours sounded more than welcoming to him.

()()()*()()()(*)()()()(*)()())()(~~~*~~*~~~*~~*~~*~~*

The black waters couldn't keep her under for long, sadly.

She woke up, her face stiff from the tears that had dried there. The memories poured into her like a wave crashing down into the ocean- with a powerful force and all at once. She surveyed her surroundings. Cereal bowl still there. Sofa still draped with a blanket. Outside, it wasn't even light out yet.

Bingo.

She tiredly put her clothes on, keeping her mind blank, focusing entirely on the tasks that she was completing. She put on her thigh high black socks, paired with the biggest, fluffiest boots she could find, and just put on the same clothes she had worn yesterday. She didn't have the energy to look through her neglected drawers.

She walked one floor up, two floors up, three floors up….

It all felt like a dream. Was this real? It felt like she wasn't controlling her actions, her movements jerky and uncoordinated. Everything was dark. The stairs seemed to be never ending… they kept going up and up…

She reached the top floor.

_**Roof Access**_, the door read.

Her ears were freezing, her fingers were numb, and her lips were frigid to the touch. Her cheeks were about to fall off.

The cold was actually welcoming to her. It showed her that this was reality, and that things weren't changing anytime soon. She couldn't afford to try and reassure herself while in this state. She might start believing it. Her hands trailed up the railing leading to the very top of the structure…

)()()()()()()()()(

Soul couldn't sleep with his thoughts of her face assaulting him.

He remembered the time and slowly put on all of his clothes.

()()()()(

She was at the very edge of the building. Looking down, she saw the streetlights were still on. She always managed to get to the top before they were shut off. She had bad luck in life, but had the best of timing when it came to those stupid lamps. She looked tearfully at them, watched them turn on. It didn't change anything she felt. All it gave her was the fact that not even these could cheer her up. Didn't she just look at this same place yesterday morning? Had things really changed that much in twenty four hours?

Ouch. The realization physically hurt. Yes, yes it had.

She looked at the ground. It was a far fall from up here. What did Soul say the day her mom had died? Jumping in front of trains was bad for your health?

Huh. What about jumping off of buildings?

She had gotten into this habit of doing things without thinking through nowadays. This was no different.

She glanced at the thick rail, made specifically to prevent you from falling off. Not jumping off. There was a small patch of concrete beyond the railing, almost designed to have someone leap away. Her body would fit perfectly between the concrete and the drop…

She climbed under the railing, onto the small concrete patch.

()()()()()()()

Soul put on his shoes and started to scale the stairs.

()()()()()()()()()()

She looked down.

()()()()(

He reached the door labeled **Roof Access**.

()()()()()()

She stood up, looking back at the railing. She was going to fall backwards when she let go, staring up at the cloudy sky.

She thought of her life. What would her friends do? They would probably bawl their eyes out and then get on with their lives. They would always remember her, though. They would feel sorry for her.

Soul would blame himself. Her father would blame Soul. Her mother would welcome her with open arms.

That sounded nice.

()()()()()()()()()

Soul saw her outside of the railing.

He might as well have been punched in the gut.

"Oh, hey Soul." Maka looked at him with eyes that looked tired and dull, like a recovering war veteran.

She was going to jump.

"Maka? Maka! Don't do this! Please, just get down! You're stronger than this!" He pleaded, trying to talk her into getting down.

"Soul, you're wrong. I'm not strong. I'm really, really not." She said to him, tears streaming down her face, and her voice breaking while speaking.

"Maka, please! Don't do this to me, to your friends!" He felt pure fear.

"They'll get over it. You'll get over it. Besides, I don't mean much to you anyway. I love you, and you think kissing me would be a _horrible nightmare_." She said bitterly.

"Maka, don't think like that! I care about you, just not in that way! **Please, Maka**!"

There was a small period of silence between them when their eyes locked, green to red.

"I know you do, Soul. But that's not enough."

"Don't do this. Please, Maka." He was crying now.

She just looked at him painfully, her tears making little tracks on her face and then freezing.

"Do you think I'll see Mommy?"

She let go.

"_**MAKA!"**_

He tried to grab her, but his fingers couldn't reach her in time, brushing against her coat uselessly.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

She fell back.

She heard Soul's strangled scream for her, but she didn't feel bad or have second thoughts.

She let everything go, like cutting away a thread that had come loose on a piece of clothing. Snip, snip. Soul's rejection. Snip, snip. Her mother's death. Snip, snip. Her depression that she had been fighting for so long and losing. Snip, snip, snip.

She felt true peace for once, feeling the cold wind rush past her.

And then she couldn't feel anything anymore.

()()()()()()()()()()

A/N: Sorry for the painfully short chapter. I know, I know, giant cliffhanger. I just thought it would be a good place to leave off. And besides, I've seen people write chapters much shorter than this in their own story, and not even think that it's short. I think it's short because I usually have my own limit of writing 2,000+ words per chapter, which is why you get all the details (that apparently some of you skip over….).

I used a different spacing for this chapter, because it's supposed to be all dramatic. If it doesn't show up on here, I swear to God Fanfiction, I will be cussing you out.

Did I get all of your hearts racing? Did I make some of you cry? I kinda teared up writing this, but that's because I was reading it aloud and imagining her expressions.

I still have some people that favorite but didn't review…. Yes, you! You in the back! I'm talking about you, _XxHikariRenxX, souleaterd, fower43, _, and YOU, _LilMissAwkward_! You have read all the chapters and still decided to do that after I put up SPECIFICALLY to leave a damn review? You favorited _today, Lilmissawkward_! I will give you all a Maka Chop!

For all of you decent people (or aliens) that review, you guys fucking rock. I have thirty three reviews and over 1,100 hits! You guys own.

Stay tuned for the next episode! ;)

Nicole, that bum you see on the side of the road


	6. I want the blackness

A/N: LUNABELLLA! You are pretty freaking pimp. Thank you very much. I read all of it, and without that, I probably would be doing this backwards. I would've had to type in Wikipedia and read tons of stuff, but you were so kind to put it in your reviews. All of my reviewers, members and anons, I appreciate your love! If I get to triple digits, I'll give you guys a double update. Hide your wife, hide your kids, I'm going to double update! Almost unheard of on here. Like a legendary Pokémon. Ooh, I'd be a Zapdos! But enough about this random crap, I'll begin writing the chapter you guys have been eagerly awaiting.

Disclaimer: Oh yeah, I don't own this. Blair would be tame compared to the antics they would do if I owned that show. I always forget to put these things…

*_Soul's point of view_*

She jumped from the top of the structure. I tried to reach for her, but my fingers slipped past her coat, brushing against the soft fabric in a failed attempt.

My world was shattered like a porcelain doll dropped by an incautious child. The pieces scattered with every passing second, ensuring the fact that it would take a long time to pick up the pieces. I was the child, and she was the doll. I didn't know what I had, so I dropped it carelessly, only to have its body crack and break away from the impact.

I heard a sickening splat.

I'm glad I didn't have anything to eat today, or else it would have been all over the pavement in reaction to that noise. I was deathly afraid to look over and see her body, but I had to do _something_. Even when nothing would matter now.

I peeked over the railing, expecting the worst. What if I saw her body bloody and broken?

I saw her body face down. There wasn't a pool of blood. There weren't any body parts sticking out in any directions that they shouldn't be. The air from my lungs left my lungs with a sharp force.

She didn't fall to the ground. There was a balcony on one person's apartment, and she was caught in that. It was still a twenty foot fall, but the rate of her survival just skyrocketed from the ground.

I closed my eyes in relief, smiling grimly even under these situations.

I whipped out my cell phone to call an ambulance, not even caring when I heard screams of the townsfolk. I didn't even care when an unfortunate woman found Maka's broken self on her balcony. All that mattered now was to make sure that I could piece her back together.

())()()()()()()()()()()())()(

_Maka's POV_

As I slept, I dreamed.

I wandered around in a place black as pitch, but I could see through it as if it was as bright as day. It was as if I had been here my whole life. The blackness had a certain air of familiarity to it.

Without notice, the scenery started to change. Am I dreaming? This doesn't seem right… What would be right? What happened before? Was there a before? I can remember the movies… Things get dark from there…

Things unfolded like I was reading a storybook.

_There were two skeletons, Life and Death_.

Suddenly, I was there with them, the two corpses. I had a feeling that Life was a girl and that Death was a boy without any indication from the two. They stood next to each other, surveying the land.

_When they awoke, the whole world was just a big rock, and they were the only two inhabitants_.

I saw them look at the Earth, searching for anybody else. Their search was fruitless. Every time Life looked at Death though, a heart that I hadn't noticed being there before started beating for a small period of time.

_They loved each other so much that the rocky earth turned into soft soil and flowers bloomed._

Wherever their bony feet touched the ground, greenery came up like a child waking up from a small nap. Small petunias and daffodils showed their waxy petals when the pair walked by.

_To prove their love to one another, they each took out a bone in their arms and made a pot out of it, and out of that pot gushed fresh water, creating rivers and streams._

It showed the two body frames taking out a bone in their arm, grinding them up, making clay out of it, and creating a large container of stone.

_After that, they decided to rest_.

The place seems to flash to the present time, showing a field with people having picnics and playing games. It looks like the same place where Life and Death went to sleep, the place where Life slept has an oak tree while Death has a cypress in its place.

_A little boy wanders off into the woods and finds the same pot, old and dusty. It no longer has water flowing through it, but is stuffed with a single day lily to stop it from flowing. The boy takes out the_ _purple lily, and the flower turns to ash in his palm. The pot once again has water flowing out of its rusted mahogany surface._

In the background, you can make out two skeletons next to their trees, hearts beating as one, holding hands.

I looked around the field, feeling as if I was stuck in a movie that had ended. The scene had started to close in on me after I had seen the two hearts thumping in unison. Things overwhelmed me, growing taller than I, going in and out of focus. The grass grew bigger than skyscrapers, the children smiling eerily.

_It hurts! _

_I'm scared!_

_This wasn't supposed to happen after what I did! What I did? What did I do?_

_**Ouch!**_

_It hurts! Make it stop…. Where did the blackness go? I want the blackness! I don't want to hurt! Everything's strange… I can't… It hurts to think… Momma…._

*_Soul's POV_*

I watched them carry her body away to a car adorned with flashing lights, saw them lift her up onto a stretcher. They didn't cover her body with a black plastic bag, so she wasn't dead. I ran down each flight of stairs like I was going to get all the money in the world if I got down there in record time.

There was a man with black hair tending to Maka when I got downstairs, sticking some kind of IV into her while she writhed on the stretcher. I jogged up next to her unconscious body, trying very hard to not look at her with the giant wound on her head. The gaping cut was about as long as my index finger and was bleeding with every pulse that ran through her.

"Is she alright?" I asked the man who was sticking a very thick, horror-movie material needle through Maka's arm.

He turned to face me, and I felt my eyes involuntarily widen. The guy had three horizontal stark-white lines on his hair. They were so startling that I must have shown it openly on his face, because the man's lips twitched and his eyes narrowed to slits, looking angry and depressed at the same time.

"Sir, she jumped off of a building. She's not going to be 'alright' after that. But yes, she's alive, but I'm not sure about what will happen to her afterwards. There was a lot of damage to her head..." The man trailed off, seeing my face increasingly turn worried.

"What do you mean? Will she still be herself?" I was all but shouting at the guy. Could he stop beating around the bush and tell me what the hell was going to happen to Maka?

"She probably won't. She has a major concussion, and that's not good by any means. She might turn into a vegetable, or she may lose her memories. It could do a lot to her, and with a wound this deep, it's not going to be pretty." The man looked at me right in the eyes, a feat I was proud of in the back of my racing mind. I would never have been able to do that.

I was too busy trying to soak in all the things he had said to compliment him.

Turn into a vegetable? Like, be in a coma… or be brain-dead? To have the shell of her here, to have her be a prisoner in her own body…

Or she could lose her memories. She would never know what I was to her, never know who her friends were, forget everything. Maybe she would have to be taught to talk again. She could take on a whole new life than this one, take on a whole new personality, and find new friends.

Or worse: she would remember everything. She would know what happened on the chilly morning, know just what she was thinking as she fell backwards into oblivion.

What if she felt exactly as she had felt on the roof when she was waking up?

Interrupting my thought process, I heard a feminine screech ring out on the gloomy morning.

"MAKA!"

Liz ran up to the stretcher, her long light brown hair trailing behind her. She wore an expression of horror when she got to Maka.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no, it can't be, oh no, oh no, Maka… "Liz kept chanting the words like a prayer, looking at her friend's state.

"Is…" Liz gulped, her tears leaking out from her eyes like a faucet on high. "Is she dead?"

"No, she's not. But she's very close to it. We have to get her to a hospital before her condition gets any worse, miss. Would you like to ride in the ambulance?" The medic asked, looking at Liz with concern and something else I couldn't place, but I knew I'd seen it before on the person that they were taking to the ICU.

Liz nodded. She shot me a pitying look, like I was her widow or something. But really, I was just as much at fault as Maka was about the attempted suicide. I might as well have pushed her off with my own two hands.

I had to get out of this place.

Maka will hate me. When everybody finds out what happened up there, they'll hate me too.

Just how much were train tickets these days?

-_*_-Liz's POV-_*_-

I rode in the car along with the medic who was sneaking glances at me. I saw every time that he did, unbeknownst to him. I was too far in my panic to even care that a good looking _doctor_ was checking me out. If I didn't know how bad I was panicking, I did now. An opportunity to get a dude's number always ranked high on my list of priorities. But then again, my friend was bleeding to death right in front of me. Am I hysterical? Oh god, I'm doing the Tsubaki rambling…

"Do you know why she jumped?" I asked. I was hoping that there was still a chance that she fell.

"One of the people we interviewed said that she was up there with your white haired friend. Apparently, whatever he said to her didn't settle well, and she jumped. He tried to get her, but he couldn't reach her in time. He was also the one who called the ambulance for her." He said with a straight face. No expression, like these things happened all the time.

"Soul….? No…. Did he say no to her?" The medic's eyebrows turned up slightly, curious of my words.

Something clicked in the back of my mind.

A/N: God, now I remember why I liked that short last chapter. It was short.

Really…? You guys just keep adding me to your favorites lists without reviewing? There is no getting through to you. Just…. Whatever….

It's two in the morning, and seeing as how I stayed up until five in the morning last night, I am dead tired. If this sucks, know it's because I don't feel like looking it over.

That dream Maka had was actually a dream that I had back in June. I wrote it down when I woke up; It was super vivid. There were smoking caterpillars too, but that's the gist of it.

Holy BLEEP on a BLEEP sandwich! (Google it….)

I have over fifty reviews? On my fourth chapter I only had thirty two. God, you guys make my life.

Remember, 100 reviews, double update!

-Nicole, your favorite flavored Popsicle.


	7. Black blood

A/N: Holy schnapps. Eighty reviews? On six chapters? Good lord, I'm going to have to double update soon.

REVIEWER'S COMMENTS OR WHATEVA:

B.V. The Epic, Thanks for leaving a damn review. ANYBODY WHO IS READING THIS, IF YOU LIKE CROSSOVERS, READ HIS FLIPPIN' STORY. And there you go. If you like X-Men and stuff like that, you'll have a blast~ Not particularly my style, but it might be some of you guy's.

Querida-09, you obviously have not read the Fanfictions I have, or else you would not have put that comment. Look at Paradise Avenger's "Where Do We Go When We Die?" or Tatsu-Ah-Rei's "Eat my Soul." They're leagues better than mine. I should get paid for publicity. Oh, and anything by .Poisoned Scarlett. Is gold. Look at my favorites list.

Anybody else, if you have a comment or question, feel free to PM me or leave it in your review. On with the story!

()()()()

_Maka's Point of view_

Things were still very dark for me under the sea of blankness. You couldn't really hold on to a train of thought in this place. You have a thought, and then _poof_, it's gone. I didn't really have a problem with that. No thought, nothing to think about. No qualms or uncertainties. The nothingness was comforting, somehow.

I stared and stared without having to blink. I didn't become hungry, or feel pain, or need to go to the bathroom. I just… was. Tranquility was floating around me, and I felt as if I could touch it. I breathed in and out, keeping a steady, rhythmic pace. Rhythmic… didn't someone I knew like music?

My thoughts went out the window once my neurons started firing; a face almost came to me, but disappeared once it got to a certain point.

What was that about music again?

Oh well. It took to much energy to fight it, and it was a battle I would lose anyway. There wasn't a point to trying, so I just stared back up at the limitless depths of the blackness.

"_Oh no, oh no, oh no, Maka, oh no, oh no…."_

Huh? Was someone saying something? The small whisper was hard to decipher in the thick air.

There was a lot more talking, but I didn't bother to try and listen. Too much effort to just forget it all again. It got harder and harder to disregard, so I decided to try and decipher what I was hearing.

There was a noise of a car starting…. A small beeping sound… A feminine voice and a tenor voice…. My eyebrows pulled together as I tried to figure out what sounds these were.

_Poof._

There was just the blackness again. No thoughts plagued my head once more.

I could still hear noises, but I ignored them.

()()()()()()

-_*_-Liz's Point of View-_*_-

I was watching Maka's face intently the whole car ride there. The ride was somber and depressing. The faint _beep beep_ in the background only reminded me how she purposely knocked on Death's door.

The medic looked at her attentively when he wasn't sneaking glances at me. He kept checking her vitals and occasionally asked me if she had any medical conditions.

Does a broken heart count?

Tears were spilling out of my eyes regardless of my wishes. I was feeling her pain, her despair. She had done the worst possible thing that she ever could've done to any of us.

She had tried to take herself out of our lives.

A life without Maka? Unthinkable.

Stupid Soul. He had probably turned her down, and in an anguished stupor, she had tried to commit suicide. She would have done it unthinkingly, letting her current emotions take hold. Well, that wouldn't happen ever again. Partly because I would pay better attention to my friend.

And partly because I was going to _kick Soul's ass_ into next week.

I rode in to the ICU, next to my friend the whole way.

()()()()()(

*_Soul's POV_*

I was going to get out of here. Soon.

But I would have to make sure that Maka hadn't kicked the bucket by the time I had left town.

I would wait a week, I told myself, or long enough to see her awake and alive. If she was brain-dead or comatose, a week would be much too long. I would have to get out of here like a cat in a room full of canines. Knowing Liz, I wouldn't make it a day if she found out.

I went to the drug store and bought the biggest box of sleeping pills I could find.

Why should Maka be the only one sedated?

I went back to my apartment in a haze. I then proceeded to take the most sleeping pills humanly possible without overdosing.

I still thought about Maka even while I was going under.

)()()()()(

_Maka's POV_

This was really starting to piss me off.

Every time I thought of something, it disappeared, and I was very aware of that now. My teeth were clenched so hard in anger that it hurt.

Damn. How could I let my guard down? If I gave in, I might forget who I was. I wasn't that weak willed, and I would prove it to this stupid blackness. How could I have been so lenient? I should have cared.

I was Maka.

I took a deep breath. Okay. How do I get out of here?

How did I get in here in the first place?

I vaguely grasped something about the apartments… and the cold… I was distressed? There was a man…

_Phoooo._

**Fuck.**

I screamed out in irritation. Come on! I didn't even cuss this much when I was awake. This place was getting under my skin.

Okay. What was I thinking about before this?

I was wondering how I got here and things went blank. It was kind of like following a path of footsteps only to have them lead off of a cliff.

I tried to think about it again. Cold… it was cold.

And there was… Sou-?

_Poof_.

I blurted out every curse word I could think of. I was right there, only to have it lead off the cliff again! I shook in fury.

I tried to calm myself. In, out. In, out.

Alright.

If I just waited, would I get out of here?

No. I had a feeling I could float around here for eternity, not thinking about anything.

I scratched my head. Maybe there was a door-

Huh?

I felt something sticky and warm on my palm. I had just touched my head, so it would've had to have some from there.

I looked at the mysterious substance.

Black… Blood?

Can blood be black? It must be because the whole place was completely dark. Yeah, that must've been it. That still didn't change the fact that there was still _blood_ on my hand from where I touched my skull.

I prodded my wound a bit more, feeling no pain in relation to my injuries. I felt my skull after I got past all the blood. Just my skull, no skin. I immediately pulled my hand back, horrified. My heart stopped and I got a jolt.

How did I get this hurt? I didn't even notice it before I scratched my head. This should've knocked me out, at the very least. I could've died.

Am… I dead? No, it can't be. I heard things from the outside. Right?

If this is the land of the dead, I'm going to demand a refund.

)()()()()()(

A/N: This chapter was super short. Better something than nothing, right? ….Right?

I hope Maka wasn't OOC in this chapter. She probably was.

And… God, I'm SO SORRY, you guys. The late update, and to have it only be 1,200 words long…. I am trash. Asymmetrical garbage. Forgive me? Stuff has been going on. Bad stuff. Stuff that makes you want a chick flick and some rocky road ice cream. And I have been putting it off and reading fanfics. When I ran out of them, I started writing. I have been listening to tons of techno, and if you read this and think, "THIS IS ASYMMETRICAL GARBAGE!" know techno is to blame. And also, if it is awesome, know techno is to blame.

HOT DOCTORS FTW!

-Nicole, who has not yet dropped off the radar


	8. Shades of bright red

A/N: I hate you, Microsoft Word. I had two thousand words, pretty and crisp in their new and shiny form, and you had to _FUCKING DELETE IT_. I hate you so much it's unfathomable. Go die in a hole and stay there. I bet a _Mac _wouldn't do this to me.

If you don't like the story, move on, seriously. I don't need your flames and I don't care if my characters are OOC or if I complain about reviews.

Oh _ha-ha_. You guys only reached 98 reviews. Too bad, so sad guys… But it means I get to put it off for another three days! Hooray, at least one of us wins~

DISCLAIMER: If I owned Soul Eater, do you think I'd be writing Fanfictions? No. I'd be making the animators living out my dreams. That being said, I don't own it. Oh, and anybody, if that's actually a legit phone number, I don't own that either.

* * *

><p>()()()()()()()()()(<p>

_Liz's point of view_

That medic was looking at me again.

We were now in a hospital room, with Maka all hooked up like she was a part of the machinery they had chained her to. The doctor had stayed with me for no given reason. Maybe he wanted me to cry on his shoulder or something.

He was staring at me blatantly while I turned my head in an effort to ignore him. It was ineffective; he kept gawking and I was still looking at him in the corner of my eye. He cleared his throat, getting my attention immediately.

"Um…. Miss? I don't really know your name…"

"My name's Liz." I said it with no emotion. I kept looking at Maka on her new hospital bed, the steady beeping making a somber song. I absentmindedly tapped my foot to the unwavering tempo.

"Oh… okay…. My names Death the Kid, but people mostly call me Kid…" He said, sort of downtrodden.

My eyebrows rose. It was a weird name- who named their child Death?

I sighed. I was in Death City now. I should be surprised over names. Besides, I'd heard weirder ones before in the streets.

He looked down at the floor, finally tearing his gaze from me. In turn, I looked back at him. Had my reaction shocked him or something? I don't see why it would; his name was _Death the Kid_, he must've gotten that look a bunch of times….

Why am I worrying over a random doctor I just met? It wouldn't have meant anything to me if it were somebody else. But that medic had something about him I was drawn to that I couldn't put my finger on… Other than his _overwhelming good looks_.

He looked up from the floor that he had been studying with such interest directly into my eyes. His cheeks tinged with a slight flush of pink. He put on a determined face.

"Miss Liz… If you don't mind me asking… can I…. c-can I…" He blushed deeper and looked back at the floor with the mortification of his failure.

He kept repeating that same question over and over again, not ever getting to finish the whole sentence. I wasn't dense in the slightest, so I got the hint.

Even after I shook his shoulders, he still kept blubbering his request. He really was trying his hardest to spit out the question, poor guy, but I don't think it was physically possible for him to do so.

I finally got fed up with this, my patience wearing thin. I clenched my teeth.

"_**Kid**_!" He immediately tilted his head up towards me.

"Huh?"

"If you get me a pen and paper, I will give you my number, so will you go before I get tired of you?" I asked, yelling at him. Did this guy have any backbone?

His eyes shone like an exploding star. He had an expression on his face that was… happiness? Raw, pure happiness. Like he was five years old and Santa was real.

He scrambled out of his seat faster than you could even think to utter something else. It was kind of flattering, really. Before I could fully register it, the door was already being slammed shut in haste.

Heh. _What a fool_, I thought with a smile on my face. How could he like me that much? If I'd learned anything from my time in Brooklyn, it was that they always wanted something in return.

So why did this man seem so completely genuine it was cute?

I then remembered who was lying on that bed.

"Maka…."

I put my head down onto her upturned palm. She was so cold. She was always so warm before, like the sun. Shining and showing us her light…

I closed my eyes in an effort not to tear up.

* * *

><p>()()()()()()()()()()(<p>

I woke up to a start, still lying on my friend's arm.

Sometime during that time I had gone to sleep. Huh. I guess sadness takes a lot out of you.

I stretched involuntarily, still very groggy. I inhaled loudly, taking in my surroundings.

That medic was gazing at me with a soft smile adorning his face. He was leaning on his left elbow heavily, obscuring my view of the three white stripes on his head.

"What issit, Kid? You keep lookin at me like dat, Ima get da wrong impression…" I slurred, still not exactly awake.

He chuckled in response.

"You know, Miss Liz, you're really cute when you're sleeping." He was still smiling that stupid smile at me.

"What time is it now?" I tried to look out the window, but the curtains were black.

"It's eight twenty nine at night." He said, also glancing at the window.

Oh. Those weren't the curtains, it really was a window. It had gotten dark quickly.

"I do believe you promised me your number if I fetched the appropriate tools, Miss. I'd like to take you up on that offer." He had interrupted my train of thought, making the locomotive crash and burn with one full look at his face.

Damn, he was sexy.

He waved the Bic pen and a sticky note in front of my face, snapping me out of my trance. I took them wordlessly from his hand, feeling an electric pulse shoot through my hand where my fingers had brushed his. He rubbed his hand against his cheek absently, as if he had felt that spark in his hand also.

I hoped he could understand my handwriting. It was almost illegible. With the blue pen, I wrote down my cell phone number for him_**. 888-521-4301.**_

He took the sticky note from my shaking hands, giving the paper a quick glance. His eyes lit up again.

"What are you looking so happy for? It's just a number. It's not like it's the keys to my house."

"No… It's just that the numbers in your phone number all add up to eight…." He kept looking at it like it was the answer to the universe itself.

"Oh, I guess I never noticed. Why does it matter?"

He looked at me like I was his own personal savior. He opened his mouth like he desperately wanted to say something, but held his tongue.

"I'll… tell you another time."

"…Alright. But if you blow up my phone, I'm changing my number." I was bluffing, but he didn't seem like the person who would call me nonstop.

"Yes Ma'am. Oh, and Miss Liz?"

"Yeah, Kid?"

"I'm looking forward to calling you." He winked and walked away.

Something about the way he said it made me blush like a ripened tomato. It wasn't just his words, but the way he had delivered it. Like it was our little secret. As soon as he had sauntered out of the room, I giggled like a schoolgirl. He made me feel… like I was special.

And it felt great to be special to someone.

()()()()

I had decided that I was going to go home and whoop Soul's ass, if I could find the bastard. Patty would help me; I had texted her during the ambulance ride. Tsubaki still didn't know, to my knowledge.

I stepped out of the dour hospital into the frosty evening. My breath clouded my vision as I hailed the busy streets for a taxi. My efforts were useless; not even one had stopped and given me business. Bastards. Didn't they know how cold it was?

I called Information and got the number of a taxi company. In five minutes of standing out in this winter wonderland, I had gotten in the back of a cab.

"Eh, Missy, where to?"

"2731 Amber Street."

"Coming right up."

The car lurched to life, and soon I was on my merry way home. The taxi had on a soft music station that was calming and a heater on full blast. It was a tiny bit better than the hospital and its saddened atmosphere.

I looked out the window and met an unwelcome sight.

That idiot on his motorcycle. I guess there wouldn't be any ass-whooping tonight.

Well, he still wouldn't see anything but a still body. She hadn't woken up all day and she probably still needed time to heal on top of that.

What a moron.

* * *

><p>()()()()()))()()()()()(<p>

*_Soul's POV_*

After taking all those sleeping pills, you would think I'd be able to sleep more than only eight hours.

Nope.

Ah. I shouldn't be operating heavy machinery, should I? Not when I still felt drowsy even when it was single digits out here.

Oh well.

I sped down the road, not caring about speed limit signs. It wasn't like I ever did anyway. I must've been going seventy in a forty zone.

Oh well.

I heard countless honks in my direction, nameless people screaming at my driving.

Whatever got me there the fastest. I had to see. Had to see her. I had to know how she was doing…

Death Hospital loomed over me before I even knew where I was exactly. Everything was speeding by, taking on a weird quality. The colors were washed out, the people all looking a shade of gray. I had to touch the walls just to make sure it was solid.

I dimly wondered if this was how Maka had felt when she was on the top of that building.

I asked a nurse where Maka's room was, as she proceeded to flail around and ask all of her co-workers if they knew who I was talking about.

It was that guy again. That medic who got Maka into the hospital. He saw the nurse's shouting and told her where the room was. Not before tugging me off to the side, that is.

"Hey. Is that your girlfriend in there?"

I tried to gulp down that guilt that was stuck in my throat to no avail. It was lodged in my trachea with such bulk I felt like I could choke on it.

"She jumped because I _wouldn't_ be her boyfriend. That was the whole fucking point." I said bitterly, looking at the man's face, his expression slowly changing from curiosity to surprise.

He let go of my shirt sleeve and I followed the energetic nurse. I swear I could still feel his eyes on me even when I turned the corner, and then the next, and then the next. The guy was weird. Why would he care, anyway?

"This is the room, sir! 218, yep yep!" She hopped away. I guess you had to be continuously cheerful in a place filled with death and tears.

I opened the door with a small creak.

* * *

><p>()()()()()()()()<p>

_Maka's POV_

It's not black anymore.

Instead, everything is a shade of bright red.

Is this the inside of my eyelids? Like I was just closing my eyes…

But I could open them now…

* * *

><p>()()()()()()(<p>

_/Regular point of view/_

Soul walked into the bright, cold room. It couldn't hold a candle to the outside temperature, of course, but it was as cold as a movie theater.

He saw her lying on a raised hospital bed and sat next to it and put his head in hands.

He stayed like that for a couple minutes.

"Maka… I'm so sorry." To think that this was what would eventually get her.

He looked at her, studying her face, the shape of her lips, her jaw line, how her bangs settled messily across her forehead.

He loved her.

Why did she have to be on a hospital bed hooked up to machines for him to realize that?

He sighed heavily and laid his head onto her bed.

Her breathing hitched when his head hit the bed, and he shot up. Did he hurt her? He hadn't thought he had even touched her…

She looked like she was struggling or as if she was having a nightmare. Her eyelids fluttered and her eyebrows were shuddering.

Her moss green eyes opened.

They both stood still for a moment.

"Who are you?"

()()()()()())()()()()()(

THERE. I have just reached 100 reviews. Eh. I'll do it next update…

I FINALLY LEARNED HOW TO DO THE LINE THINGIE! WOO HOO!

Haha. I made Soul a Sim in Sims 3. I made his hair all white, his pants a dark maroon, and they even have his jacket on there. You just have to change the colors. Good lord, what a fangirl will do in her spare time…

I'm sorry guys, but it is physically impossible for me to write longer chapters. This takes forever for me. X_X

Next is a double~~~ update~~~ I hope this chappie was okay. I didn't look it over.

Nicole, The Penguin-Diner playing bookworm you see in the library


	9. Coiled Spring

A/N: I will now promptly die because I have to double update. I don't even type the way you are supposed to. You guys deserve it, though. You, yes you, are awesome. All of you guys that favorited or alerted or reviewed, I send you all cyber Kit-Kats. Cookies are beyond us; we members have SURPASSED the realm of cookies. Expect them in your mailbox soon. I am not joking. Check your PM box, guys.

* * *

><p>()(()()()()()()(<p>

_Maka's POV_

I struggled to open my eyes and I eventually succeeded. I had almost forgotten how to use the muscles in my eyelids for a moment.

The minute my eyes flicked open, the first thing I saw was a man. Or maybe a boy. He looked close to my age, though, and he was staring at me, with an incredulous look on his face. Could he not believe what he was seeing?

How long had I been in that blackness?

But first things first.

Who was this man, and why was he next to my bed? He looked sick and tired. His face rang a dim bell, like I had seen him somewhere. Maybe he went to my school…? But I had never met this guy before in my life. I had no recollection of him, but he seemed so familiar.

Terribly familiar.

It was so perplexing, watching this man. I felt that I could have a conversation with him and know what he would say, what he would do. I breathed in, and I could smell him; even his scent was registered somewhere deep inside my mind.

Well.

"Who are you?" I asked the stranger. It seemed simple enough, find out his name and find out who he was.

The breath left his lungs with a more than audible whoosh. His jaw dropped ever so slightly. His eyebrows tilted up.

"You don't know… who I am?" The words had a hard time coming out, becoming softer and softer with each uttered. His face looked agonized and relieved, and if I didn't think that expression was possible before, I did now.

His voice.

It tickled my brain, teasing the banks of memory. It was like having a word on the tip of your tongue, only to never be able to get it. It was so close, but still out of my grasp, running away from my outreached hand to the dark reserves of what remained of the blackness.

"I feel like I know you… but I can't figure out from where. You seem so familiar to me, somehow, although I swear we've never met before. And you didn't answer my question. Who are you?" I had to move my head to an awkward position just to see his whole face.

This man had pure white hair that stood up in every direction, defying gravity and winning the battle. His eyes were a vivid shade of ruby that looked dull right now, but something told me that those could shine vividly when he was really, truly happy. His teeth were jagged and fit to each other, like my back teeth, but his were all around his gums.

And his lips. They were thin and peach, but they were so very appealing- like they could meld with mine perfectly at any given time…

I guess some would think that he looked like a monster. The thought of this stranger being a monster made me giggle. Yeah, sure, his eyes were blood red, and his teeth looked like they could bite through a tire iron, but he was adorable. Not that I would tell him. I giggled again at the thought of calling this badass looking guy adorable. A smile lit up my face.

He watched me, eyes wide.

"Why are you laughing?" He asked, confused. Pfft.

I looked into his eyes, those endless crimson pools.

"I don't know you, but I like your eyes." I said, smiling while saying the words.

And I really meant it.

)()())()()()()()()(

* * *

><p>*_Soul's Point of View_*<p>

She smiled at me.

She didn't even know me, and she was looking at me like I had just given her roses.

Her smile was like a thousand pinpricks in my chest, making me think of what could've been.

And what never will be.

My line of vision dropped to the floor.

"Maka... I'm sorry." I whispered.

I looked up to see that her smile had melted away to form a look of confusion. Good. It still hadn't hit her yet.

I stood up and did something that I would never had thought I would do.

I leaned over her, pressing my hands on the hospital bed for support.

My lips pressed against her smooth forehead and lingered there for a moment, savoring her. My eyes closed unintentionally, temporarily disabling me from seeing her immediate expression.

()()()()()(

* * *

><p>_Maka's Point of View_<p>

Those lips that I had been studying had suddenly been put to my forehead, in a patch of skin that my bangs didn't obscure.

A flash of memory pushed into my thoughts; a couch, a hallway, this man, sleep, horrible nightmares…

It hurt so much, in my heart and my head. My head was throbbing. _THUM, THUM, THUM_.

I don't wanna know! I don't wanna know!

"Stop it! It hurts! So much! Why? Why did you say that? I loved you! I lo-"My screams were cut short by an unseen mental brick wall.

Huh?

I forgot.

What was I saying? It had seemed important at the time, but my recollection was fading fast…

My expression turned from the devastated look of one that had just seen their lover die to an uninterested child.

I seemed more… empty, now…

What was I saying?

My leftover tears spilled over.

Why was I crying? There was nothing to cry about. Nothing had happened. Something had happened. Nothing had happened.

What had happened?

My thoughts spun and spun and spun and spun until my mind had coiled like a spring.

Please don't spring up again, thoughts.

Don't make me hurt again.

()()()()()()(

* * *

><p>AN: SCREW THIS I AM WRITING THIS CHAPTER SUPER SHORT BECAUSE IT SEEMED LIKE A GOOD PLACE TO LEAVE OFF. MWAHAHA! I feel like I am cheating you all. Well, there's another chapter attached to this, so oh well.

It is only a week until school starts. I have all advanced classes and literally have about a half dozen things I need to do. But what was I doing today? Hmm, let's see.

Sleeping until noon

Writing/ reading Fanfiction

Went to celebration station, played Go Karts and Bumper Boats for advanced band.

Eating hot chips and _yet again_ am writing/ reading Fanfiction.

I really need to stop procrastinating and do my fucking projects.


	10. Spinning snake

A/N: *Collapses*

())()()()()()()()()()

* * *

><p><em> And it came to me then that every plan<em>_  
><em>_Is a tiny prayer to father time__  
><em>_As I stared at my shoes in the ICU__  
><em>_That reeked of piss and 409__  
><em>_And I rationed my breaths as I said to myself__  
><em>_That I've already taken too much today__  
><em>_As each descending peak on the LCD__  
><em>_Took you a little farther away from me__  
><em>_Away from me~_

* * *

><p>*_Soul's POV_*<p>

The minute I put my lips to her forehead, all hell broke loose.

Her eyes widened so much that it looked painful, and they darted around spastically. Her body started to shake. Her teeth chattered like she had just been outside the whole day in skimpy clothes. To make it short, something _was not right_.

Her breaths came out in sharp, panicked pants. She was sobbing, but her eyes were dry.

"Stop it! It hurts! So much! Why? Why did you say that? I loved you! I lo-"

She had remembered.

Not good.

By the time I had registered that fact, she had stopped. Her words cut off abruptly. Her arms stopped flailing around, her legs stopped flinging themselves at anything solid. The LCD stopped its erratic pace and returned to the slow and steady tempo it had whenever she was unconscious.

She put her hand to her head and looked like she had lost something important and was trying to remember where it had gone.

Something important. Like her memories of me.

Her mind had blocked me out so that she could be happy again and not be plagued with thoughts of me. Pretty smart, if you ask me. The easy route is what she took.

And who was I to walk back in and ruin her sanity?

I left the room before Maka had the chance to look at my retreating figure.

* * *

><p><em>~Amongst the vending machines and year-old magazines<em>_  
><em>_In a place where we only say goodbye__  
><em>_It stung like a violent wind that our memories depend_  
><em>On a faulty camera in our minds<em>_  
><em>_And I knew that you were a truth I would rather lose__  
><em>_Than to have never lain beside at all__  
><em>_And I looked around at all the eyes on the ground__  
><em>_As the TV entertained itself~_

* * *

><p>_Maka's POV_<p>

Before I could realize what was happening, he had left. The nameless man had come and gone.

The nameless man that had come here for no real reason had come and gone.

Somehow, I wanted to follow after him….

But I didn't know why.

He seemed special for some unknown reason.

The tip of my tongue….

I grimaced at my faulty memory bank.

What had I done to get here? I saw the machines I was hooked up to, and it looked serious. Needles were stuck in me, my heartbeat monitored, and there were little clear, circular sticky things stuck all over my body. Gauze was wrapped around my head and one of the fingers on my left hand was in a tiny cast.

I looked down at the rumpled sheets.

What did I do?

()()()())()()()()()()(

* * *

><p>*_Soul's Point of view_*<p>

When I had kissed Maka, my world had become a shade brighter. The spectrum of colors had adjusted to fit my eyes perfectly. It was like taking off dark sunglasses that you had never known you had on; everything was vibrant, everything righted itself again.

When she had pushed me away and had regained her memories for that slight instant, her reaction made the world turn gray again. Uninspiring, lifeless, and bleak.

I wanted so much to go back there. To tell her that I was wrong, that she was an idiot, that if she did that again she wouldn't be in the hospital, she'd be dead, because I would've killed her for doing that. I wanted to tell her that if she was going to be an idiot, she would have to do it herself, because a cool guy didn't do stupid things.

I wanted to tell her a lot of things.

Like how I admired her strength, how I hated her violent tendencies, and how I loved it when the first thing I saw when she woke me up in class was her eyes.

Like about how I had dreamed about her on many occasions.

Like how I didn't tell her because I thought she didn't like men, and would think of me like she had thought of her father. Another cheating, malicious, unfaithful male. The spawn of the devil himself.

But… what I wanted to say… would never come out… There had to be a right time and place to do it, or else you'd look and feel dumb…

But now I'd have to wait… until Maka would have completely forgotten me... or if she remembered…

If she remembered, I would have to set things right. I would have to go see her and make sure she didn't have another episode like I saw back there. But if I went to see her… would I be the reason she did that?

My thoughts kept spinning and spinning… like a snake in the sand, moving endlessly, getting nowhere in the oblivion of the desert.

Spinning and spinning and spinning…

I was going to have to wait this out, whether I wanted to or not.

But I wasn't going to be here to wait. Oh no, I had to leave here.

But in a city that was spiraling away and away, how was I going to decipher which way was out?

* * *

><p><em>~Cause there's no comfort in the waiting room<em>_  
><em>_Just nervous pacers bracing for bad news__  
><em>_And then the nurse comes round and everyone lift their heads__  
><em>_But I'm thinking of what Sarah said_

_That love is watching someone die_

_So who's gonna watch you die? ~_

* * *

><p>()()())()()()()()(<p>

_*_Liz's POV_*_

My bed sheets were so hot they were smothering. The window was open, but I still felt like I was running a thousand degree temperature. Which, last time I checked, I wasn't. Sleep could probably make this go away, but sleep was a thing that not many people were having an easy time grasping these days.

I had been too lazy to change out of my clothes, and I thanked my slovenly ways. I threw my covers off of my sweating body and stuck my head out of the window. It just about froze my face off, which felt _so_ _good_ right then.

Hastily putting on some slip on boots, my feet instantly making the shoes hot and uncomfortable, I left my house. I felt underdressed and underprepared without the primping I usually did. I felt naked, even with all my layers.

The pads of my feet made a small _thumthum_ every time they hit the pavement. I walked slowly, at a leisurely pace. My breath made little clouds around me, such a familiar sight these days. The freezing air enveloped wherever my skin was left bare, seeping inside me and chilling me to the bone.

My gaze went downwards, looking only at the next patch of sidewalk, and then the next, and then the next.

I started hearing another pattern of _thumthum_ that wasn't mine. I looked up to make sure I didn't run into some unfortunate soul.

Oh, _yes_. Ass kicking _will_ get to happen today!

()()()(

* * *

><p>_*Soul's POV*_<p>

Oh _no_.

* * *

><p>*_*_Liz's POV_*_*<p>

I raced forward before he got the chance to run away. I took him by the collar, holding him up so that only the tips of his toes were touching the ground.

This was going to be entertaining.

_What a great way to end the day…_

* * *

><p>AN: Yay! DOUBLE UPDATE!

But it took the same time as two updates…. . SHUT UP, BACKGROUND PERSON!

I have found out that I have Tech 2 next school year! Woo hoo! He only picks a handful of people who apply for it, and it's only one class. All the other classes he teaches are just regular Tech 1 classes. THEY DON'T BAN FANFICTION! What a great way to start out my day, the first place you come to is full of computers.

Oh yeah, the song is called What Sarah Said by Death Cab for Cutie. Listen to it.


	11. Just a casual jogging session

A/N: Whoa… over 5,000 hits… O_O Holy schnapps… The day I double updated my hits were at an all-time high! Woo hoo! This makes me want to jump up and down. Okay… Who am I kidding? I just did after typing that. Thanks for saying that my story is still as good as it was in the beginning! I was worried that I was getting kinda lazy. Maybe I am.

I am glad that some of you are well-educated in music. *coughNeurochemicalcough* This makes me happy.

WARNING: BLOODY VIOLENCE AHEAD. Did you think I was playing? No, I was not. Liz was the biggest gangster in all of Brooklyn. When she gets angry, she gets _angry_.

* * *

><p>(()()()()()()()()()()<p>

Liz held him up, not even using the slightest of effort fighting gravity to keep him where he was. The only hint that she was actually exerting some type of force was the small bulge in her arm muscle. Liz showed no strain, keeping the snarl on her face and her stance on the freezing sidewalk.

Soul could only hope that they would find his body when she buried it in the woods after she killed him.

"Look, Liz, I don't know what you heard-"Soul tried to plead, but Liz cut him off before he could even finish trying to reason with her.

"I _heard_ that you were up there with Maka when she jumped."

"Well, yes-"

"I _heard _that she jumped because of you."

This situation was looking bleak.

"Well, maybe, but-"

"_Maybe_? Like you don't _know_? Gimme a break, kid!"Her eye twitched, her scowl not letting up in the slightest, only growing darker. She threw him to the pavement, with Soul landing flat on his back, momentarily knocking the air out of him.

"You'd better be glad Patty isn't with me, or you would be stuffed in a trash bag dead by now. You know Patty doesn't play when it comes to her friends."

Soul shuddered, thinking of the other Thompson sister. Smaller in age, but filled with a raging bloodlust and even less forgiving than her elder sibling. She always packed her gun, unlike Liz, who only packed it when going downtown. Patty was a bomb waiting to be set off, a violent bear trap that you did not want to be caught in.

Why in the world did Maka have to be friends with the most feared pair of women ever known in Brooklyn?

Liz kicked him hard in the side, making him gasp out and let out a small groan. It felt like she had just busted one of his kidneys. Pain spread out through his body, overriding any other thought he had prior.

Liz put her foot on Soul's chest, applying so much force that he dimly wondered if it would feel any different if they had put the Statue of Liberty on him. He struggled to get in a breath.

"What pisses me off isn't the fact that you rejected her, it's the fact that she jumped. _And you didn't_ _catch her_. What if she hadn't been caught?"

"Then I'd _definitely_ be dead by now," Soul managed to choke out. All that it earned him was her foot in his stomach.

"Don't be smart with me, boy! You need to shut your fuckin' mouth! It might give you a chance from ending up being placed where Maka is right now after I'm done with you."

Ah. Soul could do without a visit to the Intensive Care Unit.

"What do you plan to do with me?"

"A bunch of bruises on every inch of your skin, maybe some stitches. If you're lucky, you might not even have any internal bleeding. No promises about broken bones, though." She said, completely serious.

"She can't even remember me! Why does it matter if she doesn't even know who I am anymore?" Soul yelled, frustrated at the situation. If Liz knew that Maka couldn't even recall what had happened, maybe she'd ease up on him. It was a long shot, but he would take anything he could get now.

Liz froze.

Maka… didn't remember Soul? Nothing? Nada?

So… all that time they spent… all those memories, the good, the bad… they were gone? Her mind, wiped clean of any memory of him?

That time that she had fallen in love with him was _gone_?

He had made her jump off of a building, but because she had loved him _that much._ You can't just forget a love like that. To die for, as some may say.

If Maka couldn't remember it, how could she ever get over it?

Even if Liz was a hoodlum, she still had feelings, and her heart went out to Maka. Tears welled up in her eyes.

When would Maka's beating ever end?

"This wasn't how it was supposed to happen…" Liz whispered. This wasn't planned.

Soul's expression turned to confusion other than the look of diluted fear on his face beforehand.

Liz kicked him in the head with the force of a small truck, knocking him out and giving him a possible concussion. His once wide eyes rolled back into his head.

She left him there before she thought twice and decided to _really_ hurt him.

Hurting Soul wasn't what Maka would have wanted, she convinced herself.

* * *

><p>()()()()(()()(()()())))()()<p>

A woman was jogging along the sidewalk, determined not to give up her workout plan. She had decided to come out in the nighttime, thinking that nobody would be outside. She liked being outside at night, anyway. It felt natural to her. She had her earphones in, blasting away some heavy bass and beating drums. The woman lost herself in the music, almost tripping when her leg caught on something. She looked down.

She was not expecting to find a bleeding and unconscious man at her feet.

Shocked, she immediately whipped out her cell phone. Her shaking fingers dialed the three digits that she had never dialed before.

"There's a man here on the ground bleeding! I don't know how bad it is… He's not conscious… 53rd and Grim Way… Next to the park… Please hurry!" She talked fast, trying to get the words out as quickly as possible. The operator's voice was composed, trying to calm down the hysterical woman.

The woman sat down next to him, trying to find the wound.

"Oh… "She said, looking at his side. It looked like he had cracked a rib. She was no doctor, but even she could tell that your bones weren't supposed to stick out that way.

The ambulance came and went.

The woman eventually resumed her jogging session.

()()()(()()()()

* * *

><p>Soul and Maka were now in the same hospital.<p>

Soul's injuries consisted of three broken ribs, a huge bruise on his chest, a cluster of contusions on his legs, and a concussion.

Maka's injuries consisted of severe head injuries, three broken vertebrae, and a broken finger.

The only things separating them were two floors.

Somewhere, someplace, Fate itself must've been laughing hysterically.

* * *

><p><em>()()()()()()()()<em>

_~The IV and your hospital bed_

_This was no accident, this was a therapeutic chain of events~_

_()()()())()(_

* * *

><p>AN: Oh my god. I am so sorry. This update was supposed to be super quick- I wrote most of this in an hour- but I got caught up in my projects. I hate English. I can speak it and that is just about it. I can write essays and papers, but if you ask me what a homophone is, I will look at you with the Excalibur face.

Whoa. That was a rant. Sorry for ranting, guys… And no, it is not stalkerish to look at these and comment on them. I actually like it when you do. This song is called Camisado by Panic! At the Disco. If you have heard it, you will make my LIFE. Everybody only listens to _I write Sins not Tragedies_. Personally, my favorite is _The Only Difference between Martyrdom and Suicide is Press Coverage_ or maybe _Lying is the_ _most fun a Girl can have Without taking her Clothes Off._ Camisado went best with this story so… yeah. Maybe I'll find a way to make them fit in here…? Probably not…. Man, these chapters are getting short. Bad author! Bad!

School starts on Monday. On your mark…. Get set… DIE.

Nicole, who refuses to accept the fact that she will have to wake up at seven for the next eight months.


	12. No going back before you

A/N: I am currently banned from the computer because of my smart ass mouth. My laptop, what I am writing on right now, is supposed to be confiscated.

Oh man, if they ever find out about this, I am _screwed_.

They're supposed to be taking it for a week… I wouldn't do that to you guys, so I took back what was rightfully mine. Send warm wishes this way for my well being, guys.

This chapter has so much violence it is not even funny. If you shy away from depressing things or blood, then this is not the chapter for you. But if you enjoy bloody violence and depressing things, I have made a super long chapter just for you. This chapter has Liz's past and what happened in Brooklyn, her childhood, and how she ended up in Death City. A brand new chapter awaits your hungry eyes!

* * *

><p>()()()()()()()<p>

_Liz's point of view_

So fast.

I was going so fast.

Skidding occasionally across the ice, I ran like a bat out of hell.

Even in Brooklyn, I couldn't outrun my troubles. I could've been on the track team. I could've won the Olympics in a triathlon. If it required me to be using my speed, I could've won it right then and there.

My breathing became more timed and precise as my muscles screamed for more oxygen. Anybody and everybody who was outside looked at my quickly retreating figure, figuring something had happened, but not having the time or energy to catch up with me.

I heard faint, fat off ambulance sirens.

My feet pushed faster against the concrete.

I was probably in a place where they wouldn't find me now, right? The police aren't going to come and haul me away?

Thank god Patty wasn't here. I wouldn't have been able to stop her. There was always something off with her on a deeper level than me… Lead paint, my parents used to joke. She had probably had lead paint to gnaw on as an infant.

That was about three years ago, before it all came crashing down.

()()()()(

* * *

><p>It was a warm day- unusually warm, which distinctly stood out to me in my memories. It's weird how your brain specifically enhances what you want to forget so badly.<p>

They were fighting again, my mother and father. Something about money and whores and something else that I continually tried to block out. Their voices drowned out the 'happy place' I went to when they got like this. Dad came home drunk and angry, started beating things around. Mom got angry at him for coming home drunk and then one thing lead to another.

This happened so often that I didn't even think that there was something wrong with this scenario.

I was brushing Patty's hair to pass the time while they screeched at one another. Her voice was shrill and mean while his was deep and menacing.

When I had the time to be sarcastic, I had a little joke to myself about them being the perfect pair, a psycho and a drunk. I chuckled to myself secretly and didn't ever tell a soul about what happened. I was pretty, but came to school so rarely and in such ragged clothes that I never really made a friend. The only friend that I had was Patty, and the only friend she had was me. We told ourselves that you couldn't trust anyone in this world. My parents had once been in love, and look at them now. She had bruises on her arms from where he hit her and he couldn't even hold a conversation with her without raising his voice.

This was about the farthest you could ever get from a match made in heaven.

I don't think heaven even existed around these parts. God had abandoned our small home, and the devil had crept its way into my parent's hearts. His shining light was nowhere to be found.

I heard screaming from my mother, and my father yelling like her to mock her. I heard a smashing noise that repeated itself over and over again until it finally stopped with a squishing sound. Her pleas for help had halted, and his hollers had stopped. I heard him breathing raggedly and then it hit me.

I didn't dare leave my room.

Patty kept humming some tune while I ran as fast as I could to my door to lock it and double bolt it. I threw my dresser in front of it for good measure.

Anything to keep that monster out.

I took the money that I had saved up secretly for a long time, grabbed a huge purse and stuffed everything I could in it. All of my essentials went into it, including a small stuffed animal I had won when we went to the fair back when we were a real family. The tiny plush giraffe stuck its head out of my purse, smashed up against my underwear and shirts and pants.

Patty looked at me and saw the urgency in my eyes, so she started packing quickly too, as if on auto pilot, not lollygagging around like she would have regularly.

The lead paint peeled away at times like this, when I needed her capable and working.

I could hear him shuffling from the floor that he was on from my room. The wood floor creaked with every step he took, like a horror movie where the murderer was playing with their next victim.

I opened the locks on my window.

Creak, creak.

Patty climbed out before me, waiting around the bushes in the front while I was panicking on the inside. What if I couldn't squeeze through?

Creak, creak.

I tried to get my body out of the house and through the window, but my butt wouldn't let me go through. Patty noticed what was happening and started to tug on my legs.

"ELIZABETH! PATRICIA! GET OUT HERE THIS INSTANT!" He yelled in a tone I was all too familiar with.

Patty kept tugging and I felt my butt give way. I tried to maneuver around the latches and got my hair caught in them.

He broke down the door while I was tugging my hair free. I grabbed my bag from the floor right as he realized where I was.

"ELIZABETH!" He roared. Her stomped over to where I was.

I was too far gone to hear what he said after that.

I ran with Patty to the next town over, not even thinking of letting up our pace. We weaved through houses, alleyways, and trees. If we stopped, he would find us. If he found us, we'd be dead. And I wasn't going to let that happen to Patty. Patty wasn't going to let that happen to me. All we had were each other.

I think that we were in the next city when we decided that we had to stop.

That city happened to be Brooklyn.

()()()()()()()()

* * *

><p>We had made a bit of money from pick pocketing people on the way there. I would bump into them and they would be stunned for a little while, while Patty would take their wallets from their open coat pockets. They would be none the wiser. We had some lame steals, but still, something is something.<p>

And it was better than being in that house.

We had ridden the train to Brooklyn. I never knew that there were so many Dart trains in my normal life. Now that I looked around, they were everywhere. Many were deserted, and that's how I preferred them. Quiet and calming. The ride was smooth and short, stopping frequently for the people who were never there.

Patty never lost her happiness during this. I was a tad more serious because we were looking at a life on the streets. She was 14 and I was 16; I could get a job, but didn't they do background checks?

I guess this is what a psychiatrist would call the start of our downward spiral in the dangerous roads of Brooklyn.

()()()()()()()()()()()()

Anybody could guess what happened next.

We didn't have a job or any money, so we had to steal. When we got the hang of it, we got bolder and bolder, until we were outright mugging our victims. The people on the streets were all but kind to us, so we made some enemies. They considered us stupid kids running away from our lives.

Those guys didn't expect it when we rendered all seven of them bloody and on the brink of death.

Patty and I felt nothing through all of this, except greed and pride at our evil deeds. Who would've known we would be so good at it?

Maybe our father had given us some good genes after all.

I smiled crazily while kicking the life out of them. Patty got on the ground and punched them until they no longer had any teeth. Her grin was huge as her eyes darted around, scanning for any other people that would somehow try and come to their rescue. Nobody came. I was let down by this, and I'm sure Patty was too- our adrenaline was pumping and we were ready for round two.

We took all of the money that they had on them, a whopping three thousand dollars total. They were probably drug lords or gangsters. I felt something metal and cold in their back pockets.

That was the first time I had even held a gun in my hands, felt the power I could have with one single thing. I knew that one well placed bullet could kill you before you could think of what was happening.

Patty held it in her hands, staring in amazement, her maddened grin growing in size.

I put my gun in the air and pulled the trigger, letting the sound reverberate through the tall bricks walls around us. Wasn't this what people did when they had accomplished something or were showing feelings of happiness?

There was no going back now.

()()()(()()()()()()()(

A month had passed from that night. Our reputation only grew greater the longer we were there. We were wanted by the police, by the street thugs who wanted to see what we could do, and the people concerned for their well being.

We walked around town like we owned the place, taking whatever we wanted whenever we wanted it.

The gang members that we had beaten were part of the most deadly gang in the city, the Star Clan. You could tell who was in it and who wasn't just by looking at their arms, because each one of them had a star tattoo on their shoulder. I heard rumors that the leader, White Star, was looking for vengeance on his broken teammates.

Patty and I couldn't have given a clearer go-ahead to them.

We beat every Star Clan member we could find, ruthlessly hitting them and telling them to report back to White Star that we didn't give a damn if he came at us. We had nothing to lose, and we were too far along on the path of bloodshed.

Our hands were stained red with the deaths of our rivals, innocent civilians, and our own experiences.

Mother would have frowned on us if she could've seen us now. We were repeating what Dad had done to her, acting it out on the unfortunate people who came across us.

The worst part about it was that sometimes we did it just for sport.

We never actually beat an innocent to death, but we did leave them there _to_ die. Did that count?

Something told me that that was worse.

So many people, one bend of street…

We got assassins trying to kill us from the Star Clan.

We had the police give chase to us.

I killed White Star in from of his son.

I shot the police car, watched it skid across the road as the tires went out and burst into flame.

So many people, one bend of street…

My hands were stained so badly that I doubted anything could have washed them off. Patty was just a small step behind me.

What had I done?

What did I amount to?

It looked like God had abandoned us over here, too.

I saw what was happening before I died myself.

And we went to Death City to start fresh, taking our blood money with us, buying ourselves a house so we wouldn't have to worry about anything else.

I had lost my stuffed giraffe in the battles.

And with that giraffe gone, so were the faint memories of a happy childhood.

()()()()

We had met Maka on a train, oddly enough.

Her personality, her voice, the way she rubbed off on you… was like meeting an angel in the flesh. Her very soul was like being bathed in hope.

Things led to another.

We decided to give school another chance and went with her.

I got a job.

She introduced us to her friends, who we in turn became friends with.

Things turned around.

I felt like she alone could wash away the blood from my palms. Her brightness stunned me. She was so pure…

And I knew that I had to make sure something this bright could never be tarnished with the hardships of this world.

I failed.

()()()()()()()()()()()

A/N: Oh yeah. Got this done in two nights. It was really easy to write, conserving this being a thousand more words than what I've been writing down nowadays. I guess I got caught up in it… Can you blame me? I don't think any of you object to that, anyway…

School was horrible. I had to stay up really late to get a project done in time. But when I looked at them all, _I wasn't the worst_! That's all that matters to me. If I'm not absolute zero, I'm all good. I think I've had enough school already, and I'm only the third day in. I have third lunch, and I will die of starvation. I'm a small person, but you need a lot to keep this engine running. And without breakfast? Are you kidding me? I have a nurse pass and will not hesitate to tell her I have hypoglycemia if it means a glass of sprite and crackers.

I love you guys for sticking with me and my super slow updates! I made this super long to make up for my slowness! And my laptop was confiscated. So, I have a good reason.

YOU BEST BELIEVE I WILL MAKA CHOP OR STARE OF DOOM YOU.

Nicole, who is not the worst of the best


	13. I will find him again, for my goal

A/N: Got my laptop back! *does happy dance* Yeah! Long author's note on here too.

Today I got yelled at by my English teacher (the one I did the project for) for drawing on my hands. "What are you doing? Do not do that! Does my class look like a tattoo parlor?" Is what he yelled at me.

That question was open to _so many_ smart ass remarks.

"Maybe it is. You don't know that!" "I can doodle on my hands if I want to; it's a free country, not the Republic of SCREW YOU!" "Why yes, it does look like one. Would you like a tattoo? Mr. I have a bee up my ass?"

I kept my mouth shut. Man, I want to go _off _on that guy.

One of you asked about Tsubaki's past. So I'm giving it to you. I hope you guys don't mind about all of these past flashbacks. O_O'' Remember to review! You know how badly it sucks to have 500 hits and 4 reviews? Bro, you don't. I will not hesitate to Maka Chop or Stare of Doom the people that don't. You guys already know what I'm talking about, the ones that did it. I'm watching you. O_O

()()()()()()()()()()()

* * *

><p><em>I am <em>_Tsubaki, the camellia blossom._

* * *

><p>"Hey, big brother, what do you want to play?"<p>

Even back then, my age didn't restrict in any way my brother's blatant hatred for me.

"I don't care. What do you want to play?" He said with a bored look on his face. He had the same frown on his face all the time. I couldn't even recall when he had smiled at me.

"I want to play football." I said, trying to please him with some boyish game that I thought he would like.

"You always say that. That's not what you really wanted to play, was it?"

_Actually, I wanted to play house._

"You're the princess of the Nakatsukasas. You shouldn't be scratching yourself up with playing."

I was still smiling, ignoring his hurtful words. I was sure that my eyes showed it, though. They always did. I think that even back then, I was smiling to let him know that it was okay if he followed suit.

His stare went to the flower bush behind me. Whatever light was in his eyes left them, and that was an amazing feat, since I didn't think there was any light in them at first.

Our camellia flowers were in full bloom, their red petals spreading themselves to catch whatever light they could scour up.

"You're their Tsubaki. Their revered camellia blossom. The prize that they had been waiting for so long. Your blinding light overshadows me. You are leaving me in the darkness, selfish, scentless, ugly flower. I was the successor before you, you know. Even the fact that I was male didn't make a difference! You got it all, the family house, our weapons, and the riches. I see nothing in you, weak little girl. You spoiled, naïve princess. I hope you get knocked off of your pedestal. I hope that when you fall from your high horse, you can't stand up again."

I was still smiling, tears coming to my eyes. He did this often, but his words still stung. I turned away from him, walking until I was sure I was out of his sight, and then running as fast as my seven year old feet could carry me.

I went to the playground of a nearby school, of which was nearly deserted except for one boy who was doing sit ups while hanging upside down of the monkey bars repetitively. I had completely forgotten about my brother on the way, and he was making me curious. I approached where he was.

Sweat was running in a steady stream from his forehead, giving up to gravity as the tiny droplets fell to the ground in quick succession. His hair still stood up messily, bouncing slightly with every sit up.

He went down to do another and was greeted with my eyes staring holes into his.

"Aaah!" His eyes wet wide before he lost his balance on the metal he was hanging from and fell to the ground. His arms flailed around the short ride to the ground.

"Oh! I'm sorry if I scared you! You just looked so cool, doing all that! I wanted to see up close! I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" I said quickly as he writhed on the ground. I took his hand and helped him to his feet. His green eyes met my indigo ones, and I could tell in that instant that he was something else.

But I couldn't tell if it was in a good way or a bad way.

He had a small red tint to his cheeks. "You… you thought I was cool?" He asked, his eyes looking like he had just had Christmas and his birthday all in one. I giggled.

"Yeah, really cool."

"I always come up here. Why haven't I seen you before?" He asked, tilting his head to the left slightly. He looked stumped.

"I've never been here before. I'm not allowed to go to playgrounds, or be with other kids. I have my… brother… to play with…" I said, trailing off, thinking of my brother again. Why did he have to be so bitter?

"I don't know your brother, but with the way you're looking right now, he must be an ass. Pretty girls aren't supposed to be sad."

"Don't say that word! Wait… I'm pretty?" I said, realizing the last few words of his sentences.

"Yeah. You didn't know? You're really pretty." He said, like he was saying that the sky is blue or that the world is round. He didn't even blink.

"Thank you! You're so nice!" I hugged him fiercely, hanging onto him. After having my brother tell me all those nasty things really rook a hit at my self esteem, and this stranger had just bumped it back up a bit.

He stood still as I hugged him and waited until I was done.

"What's your name?"

"I'm Tsubaki! I'm seven! What's your name?" I said brightly.

"I'm the almighty Black Star and I will surpass the heavens! I'm eight, ha-ha! I'm older than you!" He said loudly, like he was presenting himself to an audience without a microphone.

"You're going to surpass God?"

"Yeah! It's my dream! Everyone's gotta have a dream, don't they?"

"… I don't have one…" I said shyly, looking at the ground. I felt excluded.

He tapped his forehead in thought. He brightened considerably at once.

"I've got one!"

"What? What is it?"

"Your goal will be to find me again!"

"But don't you come here every day?"

"Yeah, but it's a goal you wanted, right? You can do the same goal everyday if you want to. Then you can have something to look forward to!"

"But I can't go every day. My momma said I can't see other people."

"Then lie."

"E-Eh? That's bad! Lying is bad, Black Star!"

"So? If it's for your goal, you can do it! Who's going to care?"

Not my brother.

I stared up at him, amazed at how he could produce such things from his mouth. Such simple solutions to problems I had!

He gave me a bright smile, grinning from ear to ear.

I think that was the real time I had wanted to make sure I followed that goal.

())()()()()()()()()(

Time passed.

I went to see Black Star every day for three years of my life.

I sometimes wondered if he grew tired of me, coming to see him every day. Sometimes we would talk and sometimes he exercised and I watched. But always, always, he would be there, and I would be there. No bad weather ever came, and I think that was because the heavens were taking a little break.

But as they say, all good things come to an end.

My brother followed me once, and saw me with Black Star. I had already told Black Star everything, so when he tried to take me away from him, Black Star viciously fought to keep me with him, shooting words at brother like daggers, telling him how I felt about it all. How I was depressed at home, how I had nothing to do at home, and how I lusted to cut down every camellia blossom in the world.

He got so fed up with brother that he actually punched him in the stomach, _hard._

Brother was five years older than us, and he didn't stop coughing up blood for a week.

A part of my childhood 'naiveté' had chipped off at that moment.

* * *

><p>Black Star once came to the playground beaten and bloody.<p>

"What happened?" I had asked. He flinched away from my fingers seeking his bruised skin.

He said nothing, and I was more than patient enough to wait for him to say something. Finally he piped up.

"It's the family business, Tsubaki." He murmured, almost too low for me to hear if I hadn't been straining my ears. My mind flooded with possible scenarios, some outrageous, some actually not as far off as I thought. I wanted to bombard him with questions. I wanted to clean up all of his cuts and patch up his bruises. He would shy away from me if I tried, so I didn't.

I waited for a long time, sitting there next to Black Star. The next time he spoke, his voice cracked a bit.

"Tsubaki… Ca- Can I hug you…?" He asked timidly. I had never seen him like this before- he was always so warm and vibrant, I didn't think he was capable of being downtrodden.

I put my arms around him, enveloping him with my warmth, getting his blood on my clothes. I didn't care. He immediately wrapped his arms around me, snuggling inside the crook of my neck, saying the loudest of things while still not saying a word.

* * *

><p>The day after that, I went to the playground like usual.<p>

Nobody was there.

I thought of Black Star and the wounds he had the day before, and thought that maybe he was somewhere else in pain. Or worse, he might've been dead.

I had my own little panic session right then and there.

I went the monkey bars where he would always be, smiling brightly, and found a periwinkle sticky note.

On the note, it had one sentence.

_Your new goal: To find me again_

It's been 7 years, and I still haven't reached my goal.

But everyone needs a dream, right? Even if you know you can't achieve it.

()()()())()

* * *

><p><em>I am Tsubaki, the camellia blossom.<em>

_When I die, it will be silent, and tragic_.

* * *

><p>()()()()()<p>

A/N: I find it funny how nobody even thought of Black Star in the last chapter when Liz said that she killed White Star in front of his son—

Shouldn't have typed that. Now you know the plot! NOOO!

Did you like this TsuStar tidbit? You know you did.

I have recently discovered Vocaloids. THEY ARE DIVINE. CHECK THEM OUT, BRO.

Review or die~~ Oh, and SmileSassy1123, I love you! Your reviews make my day. X3

-Nicole, who was personally informed that the English Room was not a tattoo parlor.


	14. A blue and white paint scheme

A/N: Brr... My feet are cold… even under two blankets.

It's weird, because my hands are always warm. Always. If they are cold, then Houston, we have a problem. My friend always has super cold hands, and she says I always feel like I have a fever. Hmm. And my feet are always cold, huh… I get sick a lot, though, so maybe that's why. BLAHBLAHBLAH Random stuff is always up here; you don't need to read this. It's just babble.

I'm starting to LOVE anons. ((Hehe, if you're out there, see how I purposely put the love in big letters.)) Just because of one in particular. You anons should make an account and share your epicness with the world!

Soka is what was asked for- Soka is what you will get.

()())())()(()()()(())()()()(

_Soul's point of view_

It's cold.

Really cold.

Am I outside? I can't…. I don't think so….

I hear a faint beeping that went as steady as a metronome_. Beep, beep, beep_…

It made me want to tap my foot to the rhythm, but I couldn't find it. I didn't have the mind or the curiosity to really care.

I was in the land of dreams, as I liked to call it. Neither asleep nor awake, but still able to dream… still able to think…

In this place, I was in a house of mirrors.

I walked down the aisle, looking around at all the reflective glass. My face was thrown back at me, some distorted, some looking exactly like me but having a different expression. I was in my favorite suit, the black pin-striped one, with my expensive shoes making a slight _takety tack_ against the dull stone floor.

The mirrors looked at each other and then, in the blink of an eye, had masquerade masks on. They varied in color, differenced in style, but still had maximum efficiency of covering themselves up so well that I couldn't tell if they were me or not anymore.

I was suddenly locked in. The mirrors formed a circle around me, giggling to themselves and talking amongst their counterparts. The whispered like something scandalous had just happened. I could make out faint things of "_Lazy_" and "_Pampered brat, doesn't know what he had before he lost it_."

"_Never does anything for himself."_

"_He might as well as pushed her off that building himself."_

"_Selfish waste of space."_

_"It should've been you."_

Their words swirled around me, becoming so loud and thick that I could almost physically touch them. Then the main mirror, with the giant red mask, turned into something else.

_Someone_ else.

It changed into a feminine body with a black dress on. Behind the mask you could see ash blonde hair peeking out, the hair in pigtails. But that wasn't what got me.

It was the eyes. The eyes… They were the same shade of emerald that Maka's were.

The mirror slowly began to take off the mask, showing that my fears were right on target.

The Maka in the mirror looked at me, straight into my soul. Its eyes seemed like she could see through me like I was a shiny new window. They pierced me, tore me up from the inside. Her thick lashes cast shadows over her face with her eyes half lidded.

She was smiling. Not the smile she had when she ate ice cream or read a good book, but a huge mocking grin. It was hard to watch, because she looked so, so sad while smiling. Her eyes seemed to ask the question I had been asking myself for the past twenty four hours.

Blood was spilling out of her head in a steady stream. Her teeth started to chip before my eyes, and her skin blossomed with purple bruises all over. Her tears turned red.

"Eh, Soul, is this a bad enough _horrible nightmare_ for you?" She asked. Her voice went up and down into different pitches all over the place, sounding more like a ghost in a horror movie.

I was the star of the movie in this situation.

The mirrors started to close in on me, the Maka in the main mirror multiplying herself in the other mirrors. When she outstretched her cut palms, the hands went through the mirrors, tugging on my sleeves. There was no escape. Their harsh whispers were everywhere, turning into screams and moans for me.

I screamed so loudly I broke the mirrors.

()()(()()())(()(

* * *

><p>I woke up with a start. It was freezing.<p>

Was I still dreaming…? I looked around, testing the solidity of the things around me.

Wait wait wait wait _wait_.

This wasn't my house! This wasn't even one of my friend's houses….

I looked around, the blue and white paint scheme popping out at me. There was a small white stand next to me, supporting a clipboard, my wallet, and a huge cup. It was the kind that you got from 7-Eleven when you get a cup with a movie on it. I looked at the words on the cup, squinting at the small print.

Death Regional Hospital is what it read.

I was in… a hospital? I guess the hints would've been obvious if I had thought about it. I wasn't in my clothes, but rather in that horrible hospital gown, there was one of those curtain things that prevented you from seeing the other person next to you around me, and now that I looked, I was even hooked up to a fancy machine that took my pulse for me.

And there was that huge pain in my side when I took in a breath too.

There was tape around my ribs. I guess there _had_ to be a reason that I was in here. It wasn't like you could go up here and ask for a room.

I remembered last night. The pain, the cold, and a hard boot in my side. Ouch. I think I would've been out longer than this if she had invested in steel toed shoes.

I didn't feel anger at Liz. She was just… doing her job, I guess. She didn't pull empty threats, and I never expected her to give me an exception. Maka was worth more than the cold shoulder to me and maybe a month without talking to these girls. She was worth their lives.

I felt a little bit sad, though. Just a little bit. I did deserve it.

She hadn't lost herself, though. She still had her spark. There was just the small thing that I _wasn't the cause of it. _I was used to being around her, seeing her smile, teasing her. I never noticed that she thought about me that way.

In terms to density, you could refer to me as a pile of rocks. Or maybe steel piping.

But god damn, it was _cold_.

I needed to get out of here before I died of hypothermia. Exasperated, I climbed out of the bed shakily. How much meds had they given me? I took off all the things I was attached to, ripping some of the hairs off of my arms because of their stubborn stickiness to my skin. Like a band aid, bet a hell of a lot worse.

If I was wearing one of those backless hospital gowns, I could have cared less at that point.

My clammy feet thumped against the linoleum hard. My head was a little woozy, but I tried to shake it off. Your head was always woozy when you got up after sleep, right?

I stepped out of my room to have my ears blasted with a cacophony of voices. Feet much louder than mine had been raced across the floors, echoes of screams could be heard, and crying babies adorned the halls. Scrubs to my left, scrubs to my right.

This was the same wing that Maka was in, I remembered dully.

Her room was down this hall. Third door to the left. Turn the knob and you'll find her…

My hands turned the knob before my mind could comprehend what my body was doing.

I sat in the chair next to her sleeping form and took her hand.

Ahh. This… was the warmth I had been lacking.

I had just needed to find it again.

()(()()()()()()()(

* * *

><p>AN: Putting it off because I write a lot on the weekends anyway. You won't have a long wait… probably. When I originally wrote this I put "Scrubs to my left, scrubs to my left, babies on the ceiling!" I was sad when I edited that out...

So, school has been treating me like a flaming bag of dog crap. Setting me on fire, stomping on me, and then cursing me for getting on their shoes.

Wait what?

Anyway, I think I want to write a one-shot. I need an idea… =3= I am out. Every time I start a chapter I lose an idea and then three days later an idea will come at the most random of times. One time I had a plot plan idea explosion while I was in the car drinking lemonade and eating hot fries. I have much more drama, just not for Maka and Soul. Bleh, I have to write the next chapter on them with fluff. Or at least that's what I'm telling myself. After the Maka and Soul stuff I'll get something depressing. :D Mwahaha!

Nicole, who is apparently is lesbian seagull (Why the seagull is lesbian I have no clue and where she got it from is a long story)


	15. Not asleep, not awake

A/N: "So Nicole, how are you going to do your project?"

"Well, I have a thought…"

"What is it?"

"Can you drop a class before have to do a project…?"

DEATH BEFORE EFFORT! But effort might be put into this chapter… maybe… probably… definitely probably.

I have been super sick… and have taken up watching YouTube videos. I have discovered AmazingPhil.

Gosh, I want to meet someone British! They seem so interesting! With their fish and chips and tea and stuff. All we Americans have is… nothing. We don't even have accents!

((EXTRA AUTHOR'S NOTE: Today, at 6:42 PM, the hits reached 8,888. For that brief moment, everything was right in the world. Death the Kid thanks you.))

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><p>)()()()((((()()()()()()())()()()(<p>

_Soul's POV_

Ah. Her hands…were exactly what I had needed. No space heater in the world could compare.

The warmth that had slipped from me had nestled itself into her palms.

I took her hand and put it to my face. Much better. I closed my eyes in bliss.

I laid my head down on her stomach. This seemed like a much better place to be than my room. Hell, any place would be worse than here. Right now, I was where I wanted to be, and I didn't feel like moving a centimeter.

She shifted a bit, and I shifted with her, trying not to alert her. Of course, with my luck, she would wake up.

And she _did _wake up.

I felt a hitch in her breathing, like a baby taking its first breath, a large gasp. I didn't move a muscle. What good would it do to run away? She would know who it was by looking at me, and she would've known what I was doing.

I heard her mutter a low sound of confusion.

And then the weirdest thing happened.

She started petting my hair.

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*_Maka's POV_*

What the hell?

I was being awoken from a dreamless sleep… and saw the boy from yesterday was using my stomach as a pillow and holding my hands?

It felt… nice.

Nice and soft and cooling. The guy was an icepack…

Don't question things, my mother had once said. Just go with it.

So I went with it.

What else could I do? Squirm away and disrupt this boy? Yell and make a scene about a person who was already in his own hospital gown?

So I rested my hand on his head, feeling the roots under my palm. His hair was so soft! My hand went into a petting motion, setting a steady pace.

He let out a huge breath, like he had been holding it in for the whole time. He nestled himself deeper into me, his grin on my hands tightening the slightest bit.

I leaned back so I wouldn't have to strain my neck to see him. I stared up at the ceiling as his breaths deepened, and then I could hear small snores coming from him. I didn't let up in my petting, for this cat seemed desperate for my love even unconscious. His hands never left mine, and I felt his body turn from the abominable snowman to a regular temperature.

Who was this guy? He had been popping up ever since I had been here. He seemed to know me, though, as he had called me by name once. I just didn't know his. Last time I asked what his name was, something happened that I couldn't quite remember. It got fuzzy, like a camera out of focus.

He was wearing a hospital gown, too. Yesterday he was wearing regular street clothes, not this horrid piece of cloth. He must have been hurt enough to be sent to this wing of the hospital. What could he have done to landed himself in here?

I chuckled to myself. I always knew this fool would be in a motorcycle accident-

Huh?

That thought had come out of nowhere. A motorcycle? This guy?

_Soul._

His name was So-

_Poof._

Aw, come _on_! This had to be the most annoying thing ever known to man. Once I got it, it was gone! The bandage around my head wasn't just for show, apparently.

Well, I knew some things for certain.

For one, a boy was laying on my stomach.

For two, I wasn't in too good shape for the memory department. This guy made it go wacko.

And for three, I really didn't want for him to wake up and go.

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><p>-*_Liz's Point of View_*-<p>

My phone was buzzing. Flicking it open, I looked for the number that it was from.

The number wasn't under my contacts. I had a pretty good idea who it was before even clicking the button to read it. But when I did, I got this:

_This isn't a fake number, is it? I swear to god if this is a sweaty old guy I'm going to blow something up. But if this is the pretty lady I met, hello. _

I laughed so hard I was doubling over. Really, he thought I gave a fake number?

_Hello right back at cha. I'm sorry to disappoint, but I happen to not be a sweaty old man. Maybe I can hook you up if you want one._

Thus begins the start of our texting conversations.

It could have been hours, it could have been minutes, could have been days.

I was too wrapped up in the phone's vibration to notice or really care.

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><p>_^_Tsubaki's Point of View_^_<p>

It's just so bad. It's early in the morning, I know, but I need to see Maka and make sure she's okay. I have to make sure she can speak and if she remembers me or Liz or school or even her Papa or her favorite book series or the curriculum we had- she wouldn't have liked to be behind in school- and I've…

I was rambling on and on, my eyes circling around the room. I had begun pacing unknowingly.

No! I couldn't begin to ramble and break down right now! I have to be strong, strong like a Nakatsukasa should be!

I opened my door to the foggy and freezing morning, set on not breaking down in my car the minute I got there.

There was a flash of bright blue that didn't belong in the dull, gray morning.

A very familiar blue…

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><p>AN: Don't look at me like that.

Yup, yup, I'm going to update every weekend! There, it has been decided! Now I have a deadline and you guys can message me to threaten my life if I don't do it!

Lighthouses (Jessica) said that one person actually messaged her because she flamed me.

I LOVE YOU, MYSTERY MAN, TELL ME WHO YOU ARE.

Just to clear this up, the flame wasn't really a flame. It was a joke between me and her, and if you click on her profile, you'll notice that I happen to come up… And yeah, I'll let you guys know, I happen to be a huge fan of Soul x Black Star. Or Death the Kid x Soul.

You know the number of hits I have on this story?

IT'S OVER 9000! *Is shot from using the overly used DBZ reference*

Love you guys. Remember, reviews feed the hungry writer more than any sandwich can!

-Nicole, who has the sniffles and is stocking up on RIIIICCOOLLLLLAAAAAA'SSSS! *huge horn blows in background*


	16. Enthusiasm doesn't exist here

A/N: Yeah. You know that English project I did?

Got a 75 on it. I was bleeding from the eyes getting this thing done and probably took a year off of my life and I hardly make a passing grade on it. There were three stacks of everybody's projects, one that was the terrible pile, the good pile, and the amazing pile. Mine was in the good pile. So at least I'm not the worst, as I like to say. My overall grade is much more pitiful.

Why did I stop it there and am I trying to kill you? (God, I love you, random anons. Those reviews made my whole freaking day. I like TsuStar also, but since I've never even remotely been in love before myself, saying that it was really believable and that it left you breathless gave me a huge smile.)

_How did you figure out my master plan with such ease_!

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you…

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) _*) Tsubaki's Point of View (*_ (

It invaded my vision like a swarm of bees. The moment my eyes caught the color, everything going in my mind had ceased turning. It was that cliché moment where you think that the world stopped turning. That time where everything happened in slow motion, where your concentration was focused on a single thing. Where your breath decides to take a little trip to God knows where and leaves you gasping.

Blue. The color you can only find when you go through the spectrum one by one, picking it out, trying to get the exact shade. The color of clear ocean water, of a perfect day without a cloud in the sky.

My memories of him may dim, but they will never completely be erased.

And now he was in my line of vision. Black Star.

I could faintly hear my car keys dropping to the concrete below me as my hand lost the ability to grasp.

He turned towards me, hearing the tinkling of keys dropping, curious, or maybe it was just a reflex. I saw his eyes go to the ground, up to my face, and then widen as big as dinner plates. Recognition shot through his expression, as well as disbelief and a trace of something I couldn't identify.

For a long moment, we just stood there, the two of us, staring at the other in disbelief. It felt as if something like spoken words would shatter the moment.

And they did.

"B-Black Star…?"

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**._Black Star's POV_. **

And there she was.

It wasn't a dream, not even remotely close. The spotting was so… normal, I guess you could say, so un-dramatic, as I had always planned or thought before. I hadn't thought this over if this happened- hell, I don't think I ever think anything over- but I hadn't thought I would find her in Death City. Of all places, far away from her original house hundreds of miles away. She invaded my dreams those first years I had left, so much it was once a sharp pain to think of her. I heard her name wherever I went.

To think she'd achieve her goal before I had achieved mine…

My father had tried to convince me to leave her memory behind in Brooklyn. He said I didn't need to be tied down to anything, to anyone. So I tried. Taking her out of my mind hadn't been easy, though.

And now she was out of my mind and three dimensional.

To think that she would be even more beautiful than memory served…

I swallowed and looked her up and down briefly. Those _legs_. That _body_. She must've been half a foot taller than me, but god, that body was worth the height…

If I had had a choice back then, I know I would've chosen to stay a thousand, a million times over.

Leaving her and taking up that dagger never did agree with that voice in the back of my mind, which is why I had abandoned the voice to begin with. Father had told me to abandon anything useless and anything that would take my mind off of my missions. I had given in to his voice. Given in to it everything he said…

But now… what would happen to me?

She called my name tentatively, expecting an answer…

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/_Maka's Point of View_\

The doctor came by that day.

It was a woman, of pale color and dull gold hair that spun itself into a unique style down her chest. Her right eyebrow had been either shaved or scarred, as part of it was not there at all. Her eyes were small and scrutinizing, and the same color of her hair. She looked more like a hardened war veteran than a caring nurse, as she was supposed to be. Despite her looks, her voice was warm and was like one of a caretaker, though her voice sometimes went higher in pitch and almost made her sound sarcastic.

She scared and intimidated me a bit, like a king cobra angered and posing to strike at any given moment. Even with that, I managed to stay attentive as she gave me the lowdown on how my injuries were healing if at all right now, what I could expect in the hospital and that if I needed to get up I could; it was highly advised not to get up because I needed to heal.

I would be in here for a month or so, maybe less if my body could get its act together. I always healed pretty fast, but that was talking scrapes and bruises. I had never broken a bone in my life, and god, did it hurt.

Dr. Gorgon, as her nametag stated, was going to be checking up on me every morning in here. A month in the same bed, only getting up for restroom breaks, was going to be as exciting as watching paint dry. Enthusiasm was nowhere in this place. Just death, the antiseptic smell, and a lingering feeling of sadness existed here.

There was also that boy, who had left like he had come- while I was asleep. The second I rested my tired eyelids, he was gone. I couldn't shake that 'tip of your tongue' feeling when I saw him.

My thoughts lingered to Patty, Liz and Tsubaki. What did they do when they found out? They couldn't have still been in the dark about this. I thought that they would've at least visited me when they found out. Maybe they did, and I was asleep. It wasn't like I had a phone to call them on, and if there was one, I couldn't get up to get it. I would say that I felt trapped, but that wasn't it. Mostly resentful of my lack of mobility.

Sleep was all I could do.

Enthusiasm did not exist here.

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A/N: If you want to add me on Facebook, look up DeathThe KidKun and my picture will be Meroko Yui. It's all pink and the dress is cool. The fan girls think I'm a boy and ask for me to be their brother… sigh… I'm a girl; look at my gender or my picture!

Other than that, I am happy I could meet my deadline! I really had to get myself in gear to do it… But I made it! *collapses*

If anybody here likes J-Pop, or just Vocaloids like I do, listen to Daughter of Evil by Rin Kagamine. You have Google and tabs- I know you can do it! Read the subtitles and it's all about killing. If you watch Servant of evil, it's all about her servant who actually takes her place when she is beheaded. Sorry if I spoiled it…

Hoped you liked, and remember, reviews feed the hungry author more than any piece of cake can! (Hunny Senpai may disagree, though)

Nicole, who needs to go to sleep sooner than midnight for her health.


	17. Dissonance in my head

A/N: SCHOOL HAS BEEN COMING ALONG SWIMMINGLY!

… Okay, I think that my sarcasm can't be heard in typed words. I suck _rocks_ at English. AND IT IS MY NATIVE TONGUE. I don't understand.

I have been stalking Gunpowder Cookies because that's what I do (like a boss).

I'm sorry; I have had too much sugar today. Forgive me.

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They just stared at each other, the long lost pair. And a pair they were, as went that if one of the two were gone the stability of the other would crumble significantly.

The blue counterpart had seemed to take most of the damage, withering away in the confines of shady businesses and bouts of anger where murder often followed. The flower was left lonely and often with only her thoughts until she acquired unlikely friends. The two should have never been separated, as almost nothing good had come from it. Her once best friend had sunk into a whirlpool of killing that would be hard to escape from.

Of course, none of them knew these facts about one another.

Tsubaki stuttered his name, loud enough so that he could hear it but still below the level of sound normally used.

He opened his mouth halfway, trying to get a sound out but couldn't. His mind was running faster than a blink, and he cleared his throat, the sound making the tense and deadly quiet atmosphere even more so.

Before he knew it, Tsubaki was already walking towards him with a look of disbelief, as if he was a hologram to disappear the second she let up her attention. She walked speedily- always in a rush, he thought mildly.

"Tsuba-"He started to say the name that was on his tongue but was busy being squeezed to death by the same person he was addressing.

Tsubaki had wrapped her thin arms around his still figure, hugging him hard and shutting her eyes closed. He could feel her pulse behind all of her layers, and could she hear his heart beat as fast as a race horse gallops across a track.

He started to try and say her name again, but she shushed him.

"I'll let you speak when I'm finished, but for now, let me do what I've wanted to do since you left," she mumbled into his jacket.

He let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding, closed his eyes, and put his arms around her.

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=_The Snake's Point of view_=

Quite fun, this new one was.

I read the report on her. Maka Albarn, seventeen years of age, top of her class. But her basic information wasn't what was interesting me.

It was _how_ she got in here.

She couldn't remember anything before three days ago and waking up in here. I asked her the things I had to; like her birthday, her father's name (which she spit out angrily), the name of her school, and some basic math problems. She seemed fine, it was just those three days that were bugging me to no end.

I had heard from Kid that she jumped. That she _voluntarily jumped off_ of her apartment building. I was a little doubtful at first, but he insisted when I pressed him, saying that he knew the girl's best friend and got it from her. A secondary source, but I could take what I could get since I wasn't allowed to grill the girl like a therapist and ask her outright.

She did have a bad concussion, and I was blaming it on that. I got to thinking about it, though…

What if she didn't _want_ to remember anything prior to three days ago?

It would completely fit with the explanation that Kid gave me. If she tried to commit suicide, then why would she want to remember the things that drove her over the edge? Her mind was shielding itself from anymore psychological harm, and the best way to not think about something is to never have it happen in the first place. Thus, why she cannot remember anything.

I was giving her the idea that she just bumped her head too hard on something. She didn't know how she got there or what had happened. I kept feeding her the line that it was because of her concussion, when really, it was because she tried to take her own life.

I wanted very badly to just know for myself. I didn't have any way to cash it in, but I still tried to get all the information of the people that catch my eye.

And believe me, catching my eye isn't necessarily a good thing.

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(_|The second patient's point of view|_)

A doctor that scared me a bit came to me this morning.

She asked me how I got here, which I refused to answer. The room was silent for a long while, but her stare asked more questions than her mouth ever could have. I wasn't about to tell her that Liz put me in this bed- that would put Liz in prison, and Maka wouldn't like that.

I felt her gaze burning holes in me.

"Well, Mr. Evans, if you can't tell me, I guess there's nothing I can do about it…" She said. Her tone never changed, but I got a glimpse of annoyance in her expression before she lowered her head to read her clipboard. That woman seemed to read minds with her tiny gold eyes. She reminded me of a snake in some way, like her soul could strangle me out of sheer will to get her answers. Hostile and always a bit annoyed.

She asked me other things, like if I had felt any pain and if I was being fed enough. This time, her face never changed from smiling and soft, but her voice sounded annoyed. I leaned back into the bed, looking at the ceiling. This was tiring. Her questions were about to put me to sleep.

The doctor left and I had an urge to go up and see Maka just for the hell of it. Sadly, I wasn't able to leave the room by myself, ever. I was locked up in here like Rapunzel in a tower, looking over the world in my nearby window and wishing I could be somewhere else.

I thought of concert piano music to soothe myself.

I imagined that I was playing it in my mind, and I could make the notes form for myself even though I couldn't physically hear them.

I got tired of playing it and imagined myself sleeping in my mind. My head hit the keys, making a terrible sound.

Dissonance in my head…

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A/N: When I deleted the super long author's note I had at the beginning, I looked at the word count and it was three hundred words gone. The delete button must have been so happy... I know this story has been lagging, but I actually have a definite chapter plan for the next chapter. Bear with me.

Yeah, my name is Nicole, and if you have my name, kudos to you! Now there is no cricket oddly chirping in the background.

If you guys have the time or can pull yourself away from reading Where Do We Go When We Die like I do, please check out this awesome fanfic called The Swingset. It's by the author gone-phishing, and it's really well written. It surprisingly doesn't have a lot of reviews, so I want you guys to check it out. Look it up or find it in my favorites list. I think it'd be awesome if you put 'SqueakyBoots sent me' but just read it please :D

Love ya guys~

Nicole, who has found a secret love for Milano cookies.


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